A Sister In Need
by Sam-453
Summary: BuffyDark Angel crossover, set in Sunnydale. Faith gets a blast from the past.
1. Default Chapter

Notes:This story is set around season 3 of Buffy and before Season 1 of Dark Angel. Faith is good! This is my first fic. up on this site, so please send reviews.

The girl felt relieved as she rolled into town on her Ninja motorbike, she hadn't slept or rested in days. The town was pretty small, and it definitely wasn't LA, that was still about three hours away, she estimated, but it would do. She was knackered, and that was a very rare occurrence.

                Glancing around, she spotted a motel and dismounting, she parked the bike in the car park, and saw to getting a room.

                The live music boomed through the crowded club as couples danced and friends chatted. One girl, in the centre of the dance floor, was surrounded by four or five guys, and she was clearly loving it. A small blonde sitting at a table nearby laughed as the dancer, a striking girl with dark hair and a tattoo across one shoulder, continued her overly sexy moves with these guys she'd never met. The dancer grinned back at her friend and extended a hand,

                "Come on B!" she yelled "Watcha got to lose?" she beckoned to the blonde, a wicked grin on her face. The blonde looked around, her other companions were all dancing, and her boyfriend was a no-show. What did she have to lose? She returned the grin and jumped up. The circle of guys moved back as the two girls danced together wildly, just giving in to the music.

                Around this time, another girl entered, looking around, as if to survey the scene. She briefly took in the wild dancers and the intrigued looking guys, but headed for the bar.

                "Beer!" she answered the bartender when he asked for her order. He nodded. Both were well aware that not all that long ago, she would have had no chance of being served alcohol in public, but the pulse had changed things, petty laws like that were barely remembered, let alone enforced. The girl nodded a thanks and took her drink. She stood leaning against the bar and once again looked round the room. Her lip quirked when she registered the two girls, dancing together, but clearly not "together", _looks like fun_, the girl thought, _if you actually have friends_… but her gaze finally fell on a dark figure standing in the corner, also watching the girls. The girls bit her lip softly, _oh yeah_, she thought, _now that's what I call a man!_  She was considering approaching the guy when the song finished and the two dancing girls stopped. They were both laughing, and one extended a fist, which the other knocked with her own. Then the girl with the dark hair pointed over the blondes shoulder. The latter turned, to see the guy in the corner. She grinned, and rushed to him. They embraced, and kissed. _Damn it!_ The bar girl thought. _And he is sooo hot too!_ But she shrugged and turned back to the bar.

                "You made it." Smiled the blonde, after coming up for air.

                "Yeah, sorry I'm late. I had a run in with a guy who was… biting off more than he could chew?" the blonde laughed shortly and shook her head.

                "That's lame." They walked together back to the table at which she had been sitting before, where her friends were now assembled. A tall guy with dark floppy hair smiled at the blonde, and indicating her dance partner, said,

                "You guys looked like you were having fun." The grin on his face was very similar to the looks the dancing guys had been giving them earlier. The girl sitting next to him, another stunner, with long, dark, wavy hair gave him a swift, sharp elbow in the ribs. The red head next to her giggled,

                "Serves you right Xand!" she kissed the boy next to her on the cheek and smiled smugly,

                "They did look pretty good." He said, smiling. All the friends laughed, except his girlfriend, who poked him, playfully hurt. The corner guy was next to speak.

                "I didn't want to mention this, but you guys do know that this place is swarming with…" his girlfriend cut him off.

                "I know," she admitted, "I was trying to ignore it."

                "An why the hell not!" interjected the tattooed girl, "this is 'sposed to be our night off!"

                "Sorry, girl, no such thing." The blonde smiled.

                "Don't I know it. Oh crap, Buffy, we need to move." The blonde spun round, immediately seeing the same as her partner. A dark haired girl, someone she'd never seen before, was making her way to the exit, closely followed by a badly dressed guy who looked very pleased with himself.

                "Back in mo." She said, "Right after this guy bites off more than he can chew." 

Outside, the girl was approaching her motorbike, when she sensed someone behind her. She spun round, finding herself face to face with the ugliest guy she seen in her life. The look on his face assured her that he was not looking to chat.

                "You really need to see a dentist." She quipped, " 'an maybe a plastic surgeon too, cos you got problems!" He was shocked, but not all too put off.

                "Actually, I'm just fine." He grinned, reaching for her. She grabbed his arm and twisted, throwing him off balance, and delivered a kick to the back of his knee. The guy growled… literally, and jumped back up, attempting to grab her again. Getting pissed off now, the girl clocked him one directly to the nose. He stumbled backwards, blood spurting from his face, but he just tried again. _What!? That should have knocked him out cold!_The girl thought, outraged.

Buffy and her companion rushed out into the car park, to behold a peculiar scene; the girl they had seen leaving was fighting the vamp off pretty well, but obviously had no idea what she was dealing with. She would knock him down with some wicked blows, but then, due to his enhanced strength and resilience that the girl didn't seem to know about, he would just keep coming.

                "Do you see this Buffy?" said the dark haired one, her voiced laced in amused disbelief.

                "Oh yeah. Damn she must be strong, he's a big one." Her friend laughed,

                "Yeah, but surely she should figure that she needs more fire power that that!" At that moment, both girls saw that the fighter had lost her patience. She punched him, making him step back, then snapped kicked his face with a force that even Buffy had never beheld. The vamps head hit the tarmac hard. His body wobbled, then followed suit, exploding into a thousand grains of dust when it hit. The girl starred open mouthed. Buffy wonder what had shocked her more, the fact that she'd just kicked a guys head off, or the fact that the body just disintegrated. Her friend raised her eyebrows.

                "Damn!" she exclaimed, plainly impressed. Buffy smiled, then made her way towards the girl.

                "You O.K?" She asked. The girl looked up, slightly panicked.

                "Huh? Who, me? Fine, just fine…" she trailed off. "Did you see…?" she pointed to the ground at her feet. Buffy nodded. "I just, I didn't mean to… what the hell was that?" Buffy laughed shortly.

                "You are new in town then. It was a vampire." Her friend looked at her, stunned. "What, Faith? She handled that damn well, and whether you like to admit it or not, we could always use an extra pair of hands." The fighting girl chuckled, which surprised both of the other girls. Faith wasn't even slightly squeamish, but the two of them new what it was like to face a fight like that for the first time. Apart from the initial shock, this girl was barely affected. _What must this kid have seen? Hell, I had seen my fair share of shit before I even new about vamps, but I was still scared… _Faith thought.

                "Uh huh, right, vampires, that's it! How dumb of me." Buffy gave her a withering look. 

                "You saw his face. You saw his teeth. You know that the pounding you gave him would have killed five men his size. You know I'm not jerking you around. Vampires are real, girl. Demons witches, everything you've ever dreamt was under your bed, its real."

                "Floorboards? Yeah I already knew that." She quipped sarcastically and turned to her bike. Faith grabbed the girl's shoulder, spinning her around.

                "What the hell is your problem? We came out here to help you. Granted, you didn't exactly need it, but still! You can't seriously turn your back on this after what you just saw!"

                "The hell I can't! Who the f*ck are you to tell me what I can and can't do? You don't even know me! I got my own problems ai-ight? So get the hell off my back! And take your hand off my arm before _I_ take it off _yours_!" Faith didn't move a muscle. Starring into the girl's eyes, she saw a look of fury, but interwoven into every stand of anger and violence in those dark, chocolate brown eyes, was a deep-seated pain. Not weakness in any way. But a protectiveness, held rigid by the horrors she already knew; and Faith could have sworn she'd seen that look before. A scene flashed through her mind: _a young girl lying dead on the ground, more kids all around her, one looking up to meet Faith's terrified gaze from where she'd collapsed at her sisters side._ With the shock of returning to reality, Faith jerked her hand away, breaking eye contact at the same moment, meaning that she missed the look of confused recognition on the girls face, but this two was gone in an instant. The girl nodded, satisfied that she had what she wanted, mounted her bike, and roared out of the car park. Buffy looked sideways at her friend.

                "You OK?" Faith nodded slowly. 

                "Five by five. See you later." She made towards her bike close by, but Buffy stopped her,

                "Where are you going?" she demanded. Faith smiled wryly and kept moving, Buffy knew where she was going, and that she was going alone.

                The girl sped along the roads, desperate to get back to her small motel room. She wanted to be off the streets, where that girl couldn't find her. Somehow she knew that Faith was looking for her. Her emotions on this point were mixed. _She's a stranger. A weird, screwy stranger, with a very strong grip… that means nothing though. That guy you fought was damn strong, but he was… oh god…  _but she just couldn't shake that odd feeling she'd had, for no more than a second when Faith had refused to move her hand and their eyes had met… Reaching her motel, she hid her bike in the very back of the car park and swept inside. She locked the door and sat on the end of the bed, head in hands, trying to ignore the fact that her hand were shaking uncontrollably, and it wasn't from fear.

                Faith crept into the car park. She glanced around, and on seeing the bike, a sly grin spread across her face. Focusing in on the body of the vehicle, she read what was printed there, **"Ninja 250" **_Bingo!_ Faith moved across the tarmac to the closest window, not making a sound. Peering through the window, she saw a middle-aged man _Nope_, she thought and moved on. Annoyed that some curtains were close, Faith was starting to think she'd need to climb to the second floor. But then she struck lucky. The curtains were half drawn, as if the drawer had been distracted half way through, and within the room, the girl from the club was rifling through a bag. She eventually came up with a small pot of pills. This gave Faith a jolt, and at once she understood the girls urgency. Shaking violently, the girl bolted a handful of pills, before dropping the pot, spilling pills in every direction. She collapsed, groping for the pills. Faith set off at an incredible speed towards the entrance. Even as she was twisting the doorknob, trying desperately to gain entrance, her mind was racing, _Shouldn't you think about this? So she's like you, that doesn't mean she's you sister! Chances are she's one of them! You think it's a coincidence that she came to Sunnydale? Of all places… but what if she's not?_ That was the clearest thought in her mind. What if this girl was one of the people she'd been looking for, for the last nine years? Even if she was one of them, even if this was the biggest mistake Faith had made in her life, it was one she would happily make a thousand times over, just for that chance. She stood back, and kicked the door down, as the girl let out a wail of anguish at the pain convulsing her body. Faith dropped to her knees beside her and scooped up a handful of pills. Tears trickling down her cheeks, Faith supported the stranger's head and helped her to swallow the pills. When the girl looked up, into her rescuers eyes, Faith no longer needed to look at the bottle, she knew who this girl was.

                "Its ok baby sister, its ok. It's gonna be ok." She reassured her, holding her close and rocking her back and forth.

                Hours later, when Faith had closed the door, holding it shut with a chair as the lock and latch were a bent and tangled mess on the floor, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, smoothing hair away from the other girls face. The girl was sleeping, which worried Faith slightly as she knew that if she really was who Faith thought she was, then she hardly needed any sleep, so the seizure must really have been bad to put her out for this long. Eventually, the girl began to stir. Eyes still closed, she looked a little confused, but moments later, she sat up with a start, obviously remembering what had happened. She looked around, focusing on the girl sitting next to her, with a worried look on her face.

                "You. You helped me. Why? You're the girl from the club… you called me sister…" she trailed off, gazing at Faith as if trying to figure out who she was. "That other girl called you Faith. Faith. Fai… Fay?" Faith smiled. She reached out slowly and smoothed the girl's hair away from her face once more. The girl didn't pull back.

                "You got it lil' sis." A tear escape from the corner of her eye, but she didn't try to hide it, they were already streaming down the other girls face.

                "Fay? Oh my god, Fay. It really is you, huh?" The two girls came together in a tight embrace. 

                "I thought we'd lost you baby sister. Jondy said you fell. We didn't know if you'd…" Faiths voice was muffled, as she pressed her face into her sister's hair. "I thought we'd lost you." The other girl pulled back, sobering slightly,

                "You know where the others are? You saw them after the escape?" But Faith shook her head.

                "Once we got outside the wire, we rendezvoused for no more than a minute there were eleven of us there, Jondy said you fell through the ice, and we all saw Seth get pulled back, the others, we had no idea whether they made it or not. Zack made us split up, go our own ways."

                "Zack! He made it then, I saw him get tazered and I thought, oh god I didn't know what to think. When I fell through the ice, I knew they were closing in, and I knew that if I came back up, then Jondy would stay to help me and we'd both get caught, so I stayed under. But she got out, right?"

                "Yeah, she got out. But what did you do? You must've come up sometime! Unless they found you…" Faith moved back slightly, shaking her head.

                "Fay? They didn't find me, I swear, I hi under the ice til they passed, then legged it. I got picked up on the road by this woman, Hannah, I think she worked as a nurse or something, at Manticore, but she was a good guy. She took me to her house, then went to get help, but she didn't come back for ages so I left." The girl was sobbing now, begging her sister to believe her. "Please Fay, please believe me! I would never work for them! Ever! I'd rather die!" Faith stood there, unsure what to do. Ever fibre of her being wanted to believe, but she also knew what she'd been told, she knew the odds of one freezing nine year old getting away from there alone once Lydeckers men had caught up… _But if she was from Manticore, would they really tell her to say stuff like she just did? Surely it'd be way too risky, they'd worry about her remembering what she felt as a child…_ Faith saw flashes of her childhood, the small girl who always stuck with Jondy; the youngest of the group, but by no means the weakest. She was quiet, but determined. She came out near the top on almost everything, and once again Faith saw the eyes that had looked up at her when Eva had fallen to the ground, dead. They were filled with a spirit that Faith had never seen until that day. A steely determination, fuelled by love, a spirit that Manticore would never have allowed to survive for long. Looking into this girls eyes now, nine years later, through the tears she could see that same spirit, that same flame burning bright. If she had been in Manticore for the last nine years, then Lydecker would have extinguished that a long time ago. Faith hugged the other girl.

                "I'm sorry. It's just so hard. I love you Maxie, I love you."

Next day- Sunnydale high-school library

                "I'm worried is all. It just isn't like her." Xander looked disbelievingly at Buffy,

                "To go off without a word, not telling us where or why? Buff, that sounds exactly like her."

                "That's not what I meant. She was… I dunno, different. I've never seen her so shaken. Not even after we dealt with Kakistos. She was terrified then, but this, this was different, deeper." Giles, Buffy's watcher, and the school librarian took off his glasses and began cleaning them.

                "It's possible that this strange girl uncovered something that Faith had suppressed. Maybe she reminded her of herself, or maybe, there is something she didn't tell you." He looked at Buffy. She nodded and smiled at her friends,

                "It's probably nothing though. Faith can look after herself, and like Xander said, she often goes off on her own. She'll be fine." She looked at her watch, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but we better get to class."

Later, Faiths apartment

Faith showed her sister in, dumping her bag on the bed and gesturing to the small room.

                "This is it. It's not the Ritz, but hey, it's warm, and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than that dump you were shacked up in." Max raised her eyebrows,

                "I was only gonna stay one night. I needed a rest, been driving non-stop for days." Faith sat down heavily on the bed.

                "So what are you doing here sis'? I'm mean, Sunnydale, of all god forsaken places?" Max joined her on the bed.

                "Like I said, just a pit-stop. I'm on my way to LA."

                "You do know that's only about three hours from here, right?" Faith said, looking sideways at her sister.

                "Yeah, that's what I thought, but I got here last night and I couldn't bare to go any further, I was knackered, and I could feel the seizure coming on." Faith smiled sympathetically,

                "You still get them a lot, huh?"

                "Yeah, all the time. I mean, they're mostly not so bad, but now and then… You don't get them?"

                "Not so much now-a-days, but I keep Tryp' with me just in case. You gonna be ok Maxie?" Her sister smiled bravely,

                "Always, sis. 'Specially now I've found you." She seemed to be considering something, "Fay? That guy I fought, you said he was a… how can that be true? I mean I know what I saw, an' I know that no ordinary person could take that kinda punishment, but vampires?" Faith laughed shortly,

                "Screwy, huh? It's true. Vampires, demons, the whole shebang. I didn't believe it at first either." Max was shaking her head in disbelief.

                "Amazing. I mean, hell I thought my life was complicated enough as it is!" Faith laughed,

                "That's exactly what I told 'em when I was called. They didn't know what I meant, of course."

                "When you were called? What's that supposed to mean?" Faith took a deep breath, this was not going to be easy.

                "I'm what's known as a slayer…

That night, The Bronze

                "Buffy, would you relax? Please?" Her friend Willow was sitting with her at a table. Buffy had refused to dance outright. "Faith knows how to take care of herself! You know she does. You have to…" Buffy got up, reaching for her coat, "Buffy? Where are you going?"

                "I can't sit around any longer. I'm gonna patrol. I'll see you at school Will. Tell Angel I'm sorry, if he ever turns up."

The Park

Buffy wandered through the park, not going anywhere in particular, not particularly alert for vampires, just thinking. She did know that Faith could handle herself, of course she did. But the way she'd looked at that girl, the look in her eyes, it was like nothing Buffy had ever seen in Faith. It was… almost childlike.

Not far away, Faith, or Fay, was also walking through the park, accompanied by her sister, Max. They had talked all day, recounting their lives since they'd last been together, and Fay explaining the world of the supernatural to Max. Max found it very ironic that vampires were practically invulnerable except when faced with the most basic of weapons, fire and wood.

                "It'd be a bugger for getting a suntan." She joked as they walked, "The bit I have to say I find the hardest to deal with is the holy water, crosses bit. Y'know, all the religious bull. There has to be more to it, cos no offence to Ben, but I ain't seen any proof of no all-powerful being, ever."

                "Yeah, it's not quite like that though. I think there probably is more to it than people realise. There's the powers that be, and all these Wicca goddesses an' stuff, but I dunno, maybe when it comes down to it, they're all jus' demons." 

                "Whatever. But I'd love to have another round with one of those bastards, y'know, when I actually know what's going on!" Fay stuck out her arm, stopping max in her tracks. A grin spread across her face.

                "You may just get your wish, baby sister." She silently pointed across the clearing they were currently in towards a dark corner of the park, where a large group was emerging from the forest. Max didn't know how she knew, but just like Fay, she was certain that they were vampires. _It's something in the way they move_ she thought. Switching to the hand signals they'd learnt as children, the two circled round opposite sides of the clearing, planning a double sided-attack. Fay felt a rush of adrenaline building inside her, slaying always excited her, as anyone that knew her was well aware, but this was different. This was working as a unit with her sister, someone who understood her completely, this was, although she hated to admit it, what she'd been built for. 

                Approaching the group, Max felt a similar rush. She made no noise as she crept across the grass into position, and although she couldn't see her, she knew that Fay was doing the same on the other side. She began to hear what the vamps were saying, it sickened her, and hardened her resolve to dust them.

                "Damn that kid was sweet!" one cooed "like strawberries!" they all laughed. Finally in position, Max could see her sister now, and as the CO, Fay gave the orders, but let Max have some fun, she was to distract them, while Faith began the attack. Max grinned, and stepped out of her hiding place.

                "Hey there." She purred, "I think I'm lost. Could you help me?" one vamp, a huge guy, smiled broadly. His small mind didn't even consider where this girl had come from.

                "Sure I can help you honey." He advanced on her, "Why don't you just come with me, an' we'll help you find your way." He offered her a hand. Through the corner of her eye, Max saw Fay emerge, and strike. As the already disintegrating vamp yelled out, Max thrust her hand forward, grabbing the leaders outstretched wrist and twisting, hard. He hit the ground hard, and before he could even think about getting back up, Max staked him. Then she turned to his startled companions.

Rounding a corner, Buffy heard the familiar sound of a fight in full fling. She started running, but when the fight came into view, she stopped dead. What she saw was Faith and the girl from the bronze fighting with a large group of vampires. The two were moving at an incredible speed, working in perfect harmony. When one needed the other, they were there in a split second. Buffy was an expert fighter, but this she had never seen. In mere moments, the fight was over. The two girls stood, about a metre apart, smiling. Neither was even breathless. Faith extended a fist, which the stranger bumped with her own. Buffy jogged up to them, finally getting Faith attention.

                "B! Hey girl, whatcha doing here?" Buffy raised her eyebrows,

                "What am I doing here? I come here practically every night Faith. You know that. The question is, what's she doing here." Buffy gestured to Max. Max nearly let rip, but bit her tongue for her sister's sake. Faith sensed this, and grinned.

                "Cool it Buffy. She's cool. What are you so huffed about?"

                "I was worried! You ran off last night after her, in a seriously weird mood, and didn't come back, or call or…" Max now couldn't help herself,

                "What are you two, married?" Faith laughed shortly. Buffy didn't look impressed.

                "Buff, look, it's ok, really, I'm ok. This is Max. We go way back. She actually kinda my sister."

                "Your what? Last night you had no idea who she was." Faiths smile had faded.

                "It's complicated B. We haven't seen each other in nine years. That's why I didn't recognise her at first. That's why I was in a weird mood, cos I wasn't sure if I knew her or not." Max surprised both of them when she spoke,

                "I'm sorry." She offered, "I didn't mean to freak you out. I was just in a bit of a screwy headspace last night. I'd been driving for days, I wasn't feelin' great, and, to top it off, I'd just kicked a guys head off and watched him explode. I was kinda on the edge. You guys just tipped me over. I didn't recognise Fay either." Buffy seemed to cool down a bit.

                "I shouldn't have freaked so much. I guess it was just seeing what you'd done an' that. You must be pretty flippin' strong. But nine years, that's long before Faith knew about vamps. How come you can fight like that?" Faith took a deep breath,

                "Long story."

                "A Buffy styley long story, or actually a long story?" Buffy asked. She and Faith smiled, but Max didn't get it. Faith shook her head to say it didn't matter.

                "Actually a long story. A very long story." Buffy raised her eyebrows again. But didn't pursue the subject.

                "So you're sisters, huh? You never told me Faith." It was Max who answered,

                "Not technically. But it's always been like that. We grew up together." Buffy nodded.

                "Well, you could be, any way. You've got similar eyes. And hair." They were walking again and all three were comfortable with the silence. Buffy was considering what she'd just discovered. There was a whole lot that she didn't know about Faith; A lot more than she'd thought. This girl Max seemed to have the same permanent defence system as Faith. She was secretive, tough, but Buffy had the feeling that Max had had her fair share of pain over the years. At the same time, Buffy was hurt. She and Faith had been through a lot together, and at times, it felt as if they were sisters, she told Faith almost everything, but Faith had never told Buffy that she had a sister, or someone as close as a sister; and she sensed that there was a lot more that Faith was holding back.

On entering the Bronze, the three girls scanned the room in search of the same group Buffy and Faith had been with last night. The red-head was dancing with her boyfriend, Xander, the other girl and the guy Max had seen in the corner were sitting together at a table. The latter jumped up when he saw Buffy. They all smiled, seeming pleased to see faith too, until they saw Max. As they all greeted the two slayers, Max stood back, feeling very out of place. But Faith soon dragged her into the middle of the group. Five curious pairs of eyes watched her (The dancing couple had joined them) as Faith proudly began,

                "This is Max. We go waaaay back. Max , this is Xander, Cordy, Angel,  Willow, Oz and you already no B." They all nodded and smiled, and Max tried very hard not to laugh. She could tell that they were all still thinking, _so who the hell is she!? Great, she's your friend, but how come she beat the crap out of vampires? etc._ faith sensed it too, and continued, "She's like a sister. We grew up together…" but she still didn't know how to explain the fighting skills. Max intervened, saying simply, 

                "We had a bit of a rough childhood." They all laughed at that, easily catching on that it was a major understatement. But it lightened the mood, and the suspicion was as good as forgotten.

That night, Fay's apartment

The two sisters lay sleeping on the bed, hands clasped together. Both were dreaming.

                _It was hard to see much, but vague figures roamed their minds, and voices floated to them as if on the wind. "You have nothing to be sorry for, or ashamed of, because I know who you are…" then the voice changed, "there's something I have to tell you, I should have said something a long time ago…" just catches of sentences, void of emotion, but touching all the same. There was a pause, and then one voice, all alone, softly, "I love you Max."_

 Both girls snapped awake. Max was slightly confused. She rarely slept at all, but in the last two days she'd slept for hours, and she remembered a dream, a strange dream. Fay remembered the dream in perfect clarity. She'd had ones like it before. Not with the same subject, but of the same type, it was another side-effect of being a slayer, but this was slightly different. She looked sideways at her sister, and registered the confusion on her face. All at once the dream made sense, and the difference.

"You saw it, didn't you?" She smiled at Max, who turned to her, startled,

"Huh? Saw what?"

"The dream, dumb ass." Max shook her head,

"Fay, what dream, why would I see your dream?" Fay sensed the curiosity in Max's voice, confirming that she had seen the dream, but didn't understand. She laughed,

"It's ok Maxie. It's a slayer thing, I think, well not the you seeing it bit, I think that's 'cos we were holding hands, but the screwy dream, that's me." Max still wasn't sure,

"So what was it then? It made no sense." Fay smiled softly, which was rare, she was more often, loud, rowdy, but this had obviously touched her.

"Yeh it did, if you have experience in those kinda dreams. It was you Maxie. Or at least your future. Some day, you're gonna be happy. Some day you're gonna find someone who loves you, understands you, and you're gonna love them back." Fay tried to push to the back of her mind the other feelings that had flooded to her during the experience. She desperately tried to convince herself that it was really that simple, Max was going to be happy. But no matter how hard she tried, she could still feel the pain attached to those words. She still knew that before Max was ever truly happy, she would feel more pain than anyone should feel in a lifetime. She knew that in time, the mysterious voice would mean more to Max than life itself, and that this fact would cause her to hurt him. With a jolt, Fay realised that that would probably be the hardest thing Max ever had to do, and that she could never tell Max this, as it would make her avoid that which came before the pain, and prevent Max ever knowing things that would keep her alive in years to come. She smiled at her sister, expertly consealing her thoughts. In Max's confused state, she missed the anxiety in her sisters eyes. A moment later, uncomfortable with this silence, Max laughed shortly,

"yeah right, like that's ever gonna happen. Even if I did, Zack would probably court martial me for dabbling with 'meaningless sentimentality'." Both girls laughed, imagining their always-serious big brother as he might be now. 

Sunnydale High school gym

Buffy and Faith had scheduled a training session that afternoon, so Fay invited max to join them. Buffy was apprehensive, as she did not know if max would be able to keep up, or whether she might be on the other end of the scale. The gym was set up for a full out training session, punch bag, fighting dummies, vault horses, and Giles had ensured that they'd have it all to themselves. Buffy was sitting on one of the horses when the sisters arrived. 

                "Hey B." called Faith across the room "Y' ready?" she grinned

                "Always." Came the answer. Max kept her distance, and watched as the two began to spar. Buffy was strong, for a full human, but not as fast as Faith. However, this didn't hinder her much. She clearly had wicked reflex's, as she dodged most of faith's blows even without the extra speed, and the fight ended when Faith found her back against a wall and Buffy's foot stopped mm's from her face. Faith laughed shortly.

                "Good one B. Round one to you." She looked over to her sister, who was smiling slightly. She caught Buffy's eyes and they both nodded. "Maxie! Come on, your turn." Buffy stepped back to the side, and Max joined her sister in the centre of the room. About two metres apart, they both dropped into fighting stance and locked eyes, both knowing that this would be a good fight. Buffy watched intently as neither girl moved. They each seemed to be waiting for the other to make the first move. A moment later, Faith struck, with a left swing aimed at the face, Max danced out of the way, knocking the hand to the side at the same time. She grinned,

                "Sloppy, sis, I saw that comin' a mile away!"

                "Oh yeah?" Faith feigned another, then swung from the other side, expecting Max to have dodged in anticipation of the fake. She hadn't. She rolled with the second swing, grabbing Faiths arm and throwing her of balance. From then on, the fight moved at an incredible speed, it was dance like as both dodged, attacked dodged again, anticipating close to every move, and counteracting. Faith seemed stronger, Buffy thought, and was just waiting for Faith to come in for the kill. She grinned as Max's back hit the wall, and Faith made the same move that had ended her fight with Buffy. The difference came, when at the last possible moment, Max twisted sideways. Faiths foot impacted the wall with a painful thud, but she immediately turned again to face Max. Still mid-twist, Max's back was to Faith. Faith grabbed her from behind, intending to knock her down via the back on her knees, but again max avaded, using Faiths grip to flip herself backwards, over Faith's head in a dizzying arch and to land cat like on the other side. Buffy's breath caught in her throat as she beheld it. _Now faith had never done that!_  The fight continued, but it was now clear that even though Faith was stronger, maybe faster too, Max had the advantage of class. She kept her cool throughout, instead of getting worked up like Faith. She seemed to enjoy every movement, and used the full extend of her capability rather than just lashing out. Still, seeing Faith's moves during the fight, Buffy realised that Faith had been holding back. Not just in their fight, but the whole time she'd known her. _What was this secret that the sisters guarded so closely? Because Max was not a slayer and she and Faith haven't seen each other for nine years, but still seemed to have the same the same style, as if they were trained side by side._ Buffy was getting the sneaking suspicion that Faith would have been a formidable opponent long before she was called. Buffy snapped back to reality when she realised that the fight was over. Faith wasflat on the ground, face up. Max was straddling her, hand to her sister's throat, grinning broadly. Faith wriggled, but realised that she wasn't getting out of this one.

                "Damn it!" she yelled, but smiled, "You're good, baby sister." Max released her hold on faith, cocking her head to the side to say,

                "I know." With a short laugh. Then Faith grimaced,

                "But you're still heavy! Get the hell off, girl!" Max poked her in mock insult, and stood up, stepping across to one side, looking down at her sister. She smiled, think of a come back,

                "I said you were sloppy." Faith swung one leg round, catching max's ankles and bringing her to the ground with a yelp.

                "I'm sorry, you were saying?"

The three retired to the bronze about half an hour later. Max and Buffy had fought, and Max had won, Buffy and Faith went again, with Buffy insisting that Faith didn't hold back, and following that, Buffy suggested that they called it a night, as her pride had been severely dented. So they sat together in the Bronze, chatting and laughing, more at ease than they had been since Max's arrival, _nothing like a good fight to break the ice_, max thought ironically. But she sensed there was something Buffy was dying to ask. Eventually she couldn't take it anymore, but didn't want Fay to think she didn't trust her friend, so when Fay went to get another round of drinks, Max was very direct,

                "Is there something you gotta say?" she asked. Buffy looked surprised. "Cos if there is, just say it. But don't hurt my sister." Buffy raised her eyebrows,

                "I had no intention of hurting anyone. I just want to know the truth. About you, about Faith, about why you call her Fay, about how come you're both so strong and know all the same moves even though you're not sposed to have seen Faith since she's been the slayer, and therefore since, to my knowledge, she started seriously fighting. She knows everything about me. Before you turned up, I thought I knew everything about her." Buffy found that once she'd started, it was easiest to keep going. "There's times when I feel like Faith is my sister. We've always got each others backs, it hurts that there is so much that she's kept from me." Max felt very tired suddenly. She knew exactly what Buffy felt like, and she sympathised.

                "I know." Again she surprised the slayer. "She thinks of you as sister too. That's been obvious since the first time I saw you together, right here. The stuff you want to know is complicated, and frankly I have no right to tell you. This is Fay… Faith's life and its for her to tell. But it's a lot more complicated than you could possibly know. One thing I can tell you is that Fay hasn't kept it from you in spite. It's… complicated, very complicated. An' if you want to know, then you have to ask Faith. But like I said, don't you dare hurt her. If she confides in you, then believe her, however unbelievable it is. Here she comes. I'm gonna dance." Max had no idea who she'd dance with, but she wanted to leave Buffy and Faith alone. Buffy sensed this and gave her a grateful smile. From the dance floor, where Max soon picked up a willing partner, she watched the others. Fay looked worried, but when she made eye contact with Max, seeming to ask permission, max turned away, _this is your fight big sister_ she told her, although Faith couldn't hear. Almost half an hour later, seriously bored, Max saw something that gave her a jolt. Not a bad feeling, just one that said, this is it, there's no going back now. Faith was twisted round so that she was facing away from Buffy, and one hand held her hair up, exposing the back of her neck, and the black mark that lay there. Buffy touched it gently, smiling. Max smiled too. She softly patted her partner on the cheek and abandoned him. His face said that he'd known all along it was too good to be true. Max approached the table cautiously, and soon heard the conversation.

                "Shit." Buffy said, "it's really true then. So you, and Max, and all your 'brothers' and 'sisters'…" she trailed off, but still smiled, "Cool." She said when Faith nodded. Max joined them,

                "Everything ai-aight?" she asked carefully, both girls smiled up at her,

                "S'all good baby sis', but I don't much care for you abandoning me like that!"   

                "It was your call, hun." She answered. Faith began to pour the drinks, and Max stole a glance at Buffy. She was waiting for it, and nodded slightly, it's all good.


	2. Fay

Sorry this has taken soooo long, but I was playing with several different possibilities. I'll try to update sooner next time if I can get it movin'. So… enjoy… and review! Any ideas you guys have for how to go on would be good! Chapter 2 

One of Sunnydale's many cemeteries-

The wind howled through the rustling trees, and a thin mist swirled it's way through the rows of graves, consumed by darkness, only lighted by the silvery shine of the moon. Through the rows walk four figures, shrouded in the surrounding darkness, eyes trained on those they are following…and sharing a bag of crisps.

            "So what do we actually know about the new girl?" Xander asked, indicating the three girls a way ahead, barely visible through the mist. Willow crunched thoughtfully,

            "Not much. Someone from Faith's past. Buffy says they were really close, but haven't seen each other for years. Seems nice enough."

            "Hmph. Seems fishy to me." Cordy moaned. Xander smiled and curled his arm around her shoulders, knowing the only think Cordy found fishy was the fact that Max was actually more stunning than her. She held Xander's hand over her shoulder and thought to herself, _Ha! I still have it!_  Oz took Willow's hand, not wanting her to feel left out, and asked,

            "Should we be helping them? D'you reckon we're too noisy for them?" a delighted laugh carried to them on the wind from the small group ahead.

            "That would be a no." Xander replied.

            "Hm." Willow frowned, "Not enough to have Faith for her new wonderful slayer pal, now they have Faith's friend too… we've been replaced!" she looked genuinely panicked. Xander cocked his head to one side,

            "Will, don't be over dramatic. You'll always be Buff's best friend. It's just different with Faith, y'know? It's… slayer stuff."

            "See, see, that's what I mean! We're not good enough for them, but Faith's friend is!"

            "Sweetie," Oz said calmly, "It sounded to me like Max has seen her fair share of action. Plus it seemed like they were more like sisters than just friends. You're paranoid, you have not been replaced! …And even if you had, I bet I could stop you worrying."

            "How?" Willow asked with a frown. Oz kissed her deeply, and wrapped his arms around her. 

            "What were we talking about?" Will asked dazedly.

            "Completely naked?"

            "Stark! And this priest guy was just like huggin' me, saying 'oh lord thank you' and then the cops turn up, and arrest us both!" Buffy laughed quietly, she'd heard the story before, but Max grinned broadly, laughing out loud,

            "You're bein' a bad influence on your little sis." She said with mocking distain.

            "I'm sure you got your fair share o' stories." 

Max sobered a little,

            "Not so much… a few heat induced moments, but nothing I'm sharing."

            "Oh, no way! Come on, Maxie." Fay nudged her sister.

            "No chance."

            "Heat?" Buffy said, still a few sentences back. Both Fay and Max stopped laughing and began commenting on this odd mist that had appeared. Buffy grinned slyly, "Ooh, so this is some transgenic thing, right?"

            "What? No, don't know what you're talking about." Fay mumbled.

            "Ok then… heat, embarrassment… all I can come up with is cats… but that doesn't work." Max couldn't help it, she burst out laughing, earning an elbow in the ribs from Fay.

            "Sorry, I couldn't help it! You're the one that made me think about it!"

            "Wait, you mean the cats bit is relevant? Oh god… feline DNA! No way?"

            "Yes way." Faith said with a flick of her hair. "Few times a year we go 'pop', and come on to absolutely anything with a d…"

            "Whoa, whoa, don't need the details!" Buffy said, holding up a hand.

            "Jeez, B! You been there, please don't tell me you an' Will have never talked about…"

            "Not a good subject." Buffy said quietly, and Fay bit her tongue, cursing her self.

            "Sorry, B, didn't mean to…"

            "S'ok."

            "I missed something, didn't I?" Max said.

            "Long story." Buffy sighed, causing Fay to crack up again. "You drunk?" Buffy smiled,

            "I don't think it's very easy for that to happen to us." Max said, supporting her hysterical sister, "I think it's just hype or something…" She laughed a little, and Buffy couldn't help but join in, it truly was infectious. They had stopped walking, and they leant against a tomb to calm down a bit. Max composed her self quite easily, and hopped up onto the tomb, watching in amusement as Fay slid down to the ground, breathless. Buffy joined Max on the tomb and they sat in silence for a few moments. The mist had thickened into a more dense fog and they couldn't see more then a metre for where they sat. Suddenly, the ghostly wall was broken by a figure, and both group cried out. When they realised that it was in fact the rest of the scoobies, Faith collapsed into another round of hysterics and Max rolled her eyes, "Great, you set her off again." 

            "You guys scared the gedoodles outta us." Xander said, eyes still wide.

            "Oh, well, I wasn't even aware I had 'gedoodles' so I don't think you'll die without 'em." Max quipped. Cordy locked her arm tightly round Xander's and scowled at Max, who just raised an eyebrow. Cordy yanked Xander's arm and dragged him back through the misty wall. Max looked a question at Willow.

            "Don't mind her." The redhead replied, "She's… very protective." Max shrugged, and nudged Fay with a foot,

            "You ok, Fay?" she grinned.

            "Five by five… now I can breathe again. Sorry about that." She staggered to her feet. "What was with Cordy… no wait, forget I asked, I really don't care. Anyone else notice there hasn't been a single vamp around tonight?" 

            "Yeah, cos we were being so quiet and sneaky too." Oz said. Max smiled. She liked this small, quiet guy. He was a man of few words, but the words he did speak usually seemed to be good ones. Fay smiled sarcastically and continued,

"Whatever dude, but if I don't blow off some stream soon, I'm gonna start laughing again and totally wreck my bad-ass rep." Max leapt up, 

"Ok, find some vamps quick, I cant take any more hysterics!" 

Buffy grinned, and Fay stood up, looking annoyed. The group continued to walk together.

            "So where'd you guys meet?" Willow asked Faith and Max. A momentary glance was past between the two, and Max answered, knowing it was simpler for her to lie, instead of causing Fay to deceive her friends.

            "Boarding school, when we were kids. Serious shit hole, so we bailed when we were nine." Fay couldn't help but smile at the simplicity of it… it was so close to the truth.

            "So why'd you come to Sunnydale, if you didn't know Faith was here?" Oz asked. Max clenched her teeth, nice as they were, these people asked too many questions.

            "Just passing through on my way to LA." She shrugged, "Bumped into Fay at the Bronze, and voila!"

            "That's another thing, why'd you call her Fay?" Max wracked her brains for a suitable lie, and opened her mouth to answer, but she was cut off by an ear-splitting scream for the direction in which Cordy and Xander had walked. Without even the slightest glance at each other, Max, Fay and Buffy sped off into the fog.

            "Xander!" Buffy yelled, to no avail. They kept running, dodging tomb stones until they broke through into an eerie clearing, where no fog obscured the view, and Cordy lay unconscious. Buffy rushed to her side, but Max and Fay hung back, their military training kicking in. Sure enough, no sooner had Buffy fallen to her knees by Cordy, than a group of vampires ambushed her. Lucky for her they didn't have military training, and hadn't thought to look for her friends. Max and Fay sprung to life from the mist, sending vamps flying. Willow and Oz caught up in time to see Buffy, Faith and this girl they thought was just a friend from Faith's past beating the crap out of a huge gang of vamps. Xander also stumbled into the clearing from where he'd been dumped by the vamps, and saw Max's skills up close. With only a few vamps left, Max staked one, then back flipped, catching the neck of the one sneaking up behind her in a leg lock and slamming him to the ground. Faith was standing above him and staked him the second he hit the ground. When the fight was over, neither Faith nor Max seemed even out of breath.

            "You ok?" Faith asked Xander, who nodded, wide eyed, and then joined Buffy to check Cordy. Max looked to Oz and Will, who were also sporting eyes like saucers. She frowned slightly,

            "Fay…"

            "Way ahead o' ya, sis."

            "It's a lot more complicated than 'boarding school', isn't it?" Willow said. Buffy's head snapped up as she realised what the others had seen. "And you never answered when I asked why you called Faith 'Fay'."

            "Maybe we should head back to the Bronze. I've lost the giggles now." Fay suggested. Will tried to stop the subject change, but one look from Fay shut her up, as a cold, hard mood she'd never noticed before filled Faith's eyes. As Cordy was waking and didn't seem hurt, they took Fay's suggestion and headed back to the club.

The Bronze.

Xander got drinks for everyone, and they all sat around a table at one side, and looked to Max and Faith. Max grimaced,

            "You guys are way too observant." 

Willow laughed at this,

            "Sorry. But what is your deal, Max? Oooh! Are you another slayer?… Buffy, did you die again without telling us!?"

            "No!" Buffy grinned, "And neither did Fay."

            "Ok, there you go again." Xander cut in, "Why do you people keep calling Faith, 'Fay'"

            "Cos that's my name." Fay said quietly. Max got the feeling Fay had finally made up her mind about what to tell them. Fay met Max's eyes momentarily, and Max smiled, telling her sister that she could say what she liked, and Max would support her. Fay smiled broadly, "Ok. Here's the sitch. Max is my sister… or as close as I have. We grew up together in a secret government program known as Manticore, in which they planned to create the perfect soldiers: - viola, me an' mine."

            "Huh?" Xander asked. Max smiled and had a go herself,

            "Manticore is a mega-secret government project. They used recombinant DNA to genetically engineer superior soldiers. …Think… X-men, mutants, k?" Xander nodded, finally grasping some part of what she was saying. "Only with us, the mutation isn't some natural anomaly, it was on purpose, they mixed in feline DNA, shark DNA, and god knows what else, to make these transgenic soldiers. Then they trained them… us, as soldiers too." Faith, seeing the guys were actually following this, joined in,

            "Thing is, to function as a soldier, you need a certain amount of free will, so that you can make tactical decisions, right?" Xander nodded ferverently, he understood military stuff, thanks to his Halloween GI Joe experience. "So when we were old enough to use that freewill and think, hang on a sec, they treat us like crap, there must be something better than this out there, a whole load of us decided to split, and take our chances in the outside world. I don't know how many of us made it, but Max an' me are two of those. That's how come she's strong like me an' B, and is also a wicked fighter even though I haven't seen her since I've been the slayer."

            "Wow." Willow said, eyes wide. Oz nodded,

            "Cool." He said. Xander looked like he'd just been dropped into a comic book, just grinning broadly. So they all looked to Cordy, who looked like she might be trying to work something out, then she said,

            "Huh?"

            "Don't worry honey, I'll explain later." Xander whispered. Max smiled, they may ask a lot of questions, but their experience with the supernatural allowed them to believe things much easier than most would. She, Buffy, and Fay stood up, deciding to go dance, and Oz and Will joined them. Cordy called after them,

            "But you…. And they… what?"


	3. Keepin' out of trouble? is that possible...

Yey! I got more done! This was hard to write- confusing for me as much as it should be 4 u! Hehe… Chapter 3 

            "You'll take care of yourself, right baby sis?" Fay said. Max nodded, smiling,

            "Always do, Fay. And you too." She turned to Buffy. "You keep this girl outta trouble, k?" 

Buffy smiled,

            "Not entirely sure that's possible." She replied. 

            "It was good to meet you guys." Max told them all, bumping fists with Buffy and waving to the others. Then Fay caught her in a hug.

            "I'm gonna miss you, Maxie." She said.

            "You too, sis.  Contact me if you find anyone, yeah?"

            "Of course. You too."

            "See ya." Max smiled, put on her yellow shades, and mounted the bike. She raise one hand in a short wave, revved the engine, and peeled out into the street.

            The scoobies went back into Buffy's house- her mom was away for the weekend. 

            "You ok, Fai-Fay?" Buffy asked. Fay smiled,

            "You can keep callin' me Faith if ya want. I don't mind. And yeah, I'm five by five."

            "At least here in Sunny Dale, it's unlikely that they'll find you." Willow said. The others frowned, not understanding, so she continued. "With the huge number of demons, all the slayer activity… the Manticore people probably wont realise that one of their escapees is splat bang in the middle of it all." 

Fay shrugged,

            "It's a point." She said, but then looked worried. "You guys aren't mad I didn't tell you, are you?"

            "No!" Buffy exclaimed. "I understand why you didn't, Faith… And it doesn't matter anyway, cos you're still you. It doesn't matter where you came from." The two slayers smiled at each other. Fay had never thought she'd find someone that had never experienced Manticore, who could still understand her and accept her so truly.

            "Thanks, B." She said.

The two slayers became very close over the next few months, culminating in the events of 'Bad Girls'. After destroying Balthazar, Buffy went to visit Faith, knowing that the other girl must feel just as bad, if not worse than her. Faith threw this back in her face when Buffy proclaimed,

            "You don't get, you killed a man!"

Faith replied calmly

            "No! You don't get it, I don't care!" 

-----------------

Buffy gaped at the girl she had gotten so close to recently. She couldn't believe the words she'd just heard.

            "Faith…" she gasped.

            "What, B? You got a problem with that? It's what I was built for!"

            "No, Faith, Being a slayer is not the same as being a killer." Buffy spat, disgusted.

            "Yeah? Well long before I was a slayer, I was a killer. Remember the whole made in a government lab thing? It's what I am, B! I _am_ a killer."

            "No." Buffy managed.

            "Yes."

            "No, Faith, you escaped, you turned your back on it. That is not what you are! If you give in to this, then you give in to them! You will be handing yourself back to Manticore!"

            "Get out." Faith breathed. Buffy could see her shaking in what she could only presume was rage.

            "Faith… Fay…"

            "Get. Out!" Faith cried. Buffy let out a frustrated breath, and stalked out of the room. Fay slammed the door, still shaking, but it had nothing to do with anger. As soon as the blond slayer had left, she collapsed against the door, the seizure wracking her body as a single tear trickled down her cheek.

Much later…

Faith kissed Buffy on the forehead and fled. Buffy sighed, closing her eyes briefly before turning to Angel. It was so hard to see someone so close to her act like an enemy, even when she knew it was an act. She embraced Angel as he apologised for the things she knew he hadn't even meant. She breathed deeply, determined not to show quite how much the situation had affected her- she couldn't let Angel see it.

Willow and Buffy sat in the slayer's room, talking.

"I can't believe she's really… damn." Willow said. Buffy simply nodded. "Do you think… I mean, should we try to find Max?"

"What?" Buffy exclaimed.

"Y'know, her sister. Maybe she could help." Willow continued, not understanding the panicked look on Buffy's face.

"Oh… no. I don't think we should… we can deal… and anyway, we don't know how to contact her." Buffy was clearly on defence mode- her best friend wished she knew why.

"Oh, god, Buffy, you don't think she would join Faith?" the redhead gasped.

"No. No… I just… no."

"But Buffy…"

"I have to patrol."

"Buffy."

"See ya later, Will." The slayer left, fleeing the conversation before she had to say another word. She wasn't happy with the way things were going; she knew all too well that her actions and words from here on out could get her, or any of her friends killed. Strange that this became so painfully clear now. 

The scoobies found it strange fighting the fight against Faith, their former friend. Buffy wished this didn't have to happen. She wished that Faith was back at her side, and they could party and slay, and be sisterly, as they once nearly were; instead of this…

Angel walked through the cemetery, keeping watch for any vamps. He heard muffled voices not far off, and headed towards them, soon recognising one as Buffy's thought he still couldn't hear the words. Then there was an intake of breath,

"Someone's comin'. I gotta jet."

"But Faith!" Buffy exclaimed. Angel stiffened at the name.

"See ya, girl friend." Angel rounded the bush just as Faith disappeared.

"You're still trying to get through to her?" Angel asked, startling the slayer. Buffy sighed, reaching for composure she wasn't sure she had.

"Yes."

"No luck I'm guessing?"

"No. No joy."

"I'm sorry, Buffy." He embraced the small girl, and she buried her worried face in his coat.

The box of Gavrok. Buffy swallowed hard, and let Angel lower her down. She carefully lifted the box, only to curse loudly when an alarm blared. Angel started winding her back up, but the mechanism jammed.

"Damn it Angel!" she yelled. The mayor's hence vamps piled in, only to find a pissed off vamp-with-a-soul and a stringed up slayer. Buffy performed some serious 'tomb raider'-bungee-cord-entrance-hall-action and dusted the vamps, before detaching herself from the 'mission impossible gear' and exiting as quick as possible. It was only when they met up with the rest of the group that they realise Will had never made it back to the van.

(I don't remember whether Buffy _did_ use the ropes to swing round and batter the vamps, but she should have, so in my world she did!! HA!)

Buffy stood in the library, the argument simply washing over her. Faith had grabbed Willow. Somehow she just knew it had been Faith. A sick knot was curling in her stomach as she wondered how many serious mistakes she had made recently. She was wrenched out of her own little world when a huge crashing sound filled the room. It took the slayer a few moments to work out that the source of this was Oz smashing the ritual items on the floor. She smiled inwardly, seeing his love for the small redhead. If the question was Willow or destroying the box, he had just sabotaged one choice, leaving the other. He would not let the mayor have Willow. So they set up the deal.

Buffy felt she would almost be sick when she saw her fellow slayer enter, a knife at Willow's throat. _A very nice knife_, Buffy thought abstractly. The mayor began his annoying 'I'm invincible so I'll say what I like' bit, and Angel retorted bitterly. Buffy's heart wrenched as this made Faith tighten her grip on the witch. He then moved to the subject of Buffy and Angel, of course, and Buffy tried not to full out attack him, knowing it would no-doubt be the end of Willow, as well as doing no good. As the trade was about to commence, Oz, his eyes glued to his terrified girl, noticed Faith whisper in Willow's ear, and a flicker of confusion crossed the redhead's face. The werewolf frowned, wishing he could hear the dark slayer's words. Angel stepped forward with the box, and traded with Faith.

"Well, that went smoothly." The mayor said smiling. A very creepy grin spread on Faith's face.

"I'll say." She agreed, before spinning to slam the mayor in the face with the heavy box, sending him flying into Snyder and the security guards as they rushed in. "Willow!" Faith yelled, hefting the box towards the witch, who just managed to catch it, running to the back of the room to begin the spell with the supplies Faith had just slipped into her pocket.

"NO!" the Mayor screamed. He glared at Faith as his cronies engaged the scoobies. He leapt up, throwing Snyder aside, and advancing as fast as possible towards Willow. Unfortunately for him, 'as fast as possible' happened to mean getting past two slayers, standing side by side. Two right feet hit his chest, sending him back through the cafeteria door.

"Damn you scared me for a minute." Buffy gasped, smiling at her dark haired counter part.

"Told you I was the best actor in the world!" Faith replied, her eyes gleaming in mid-fight excitement as she staked a vamp. When all the cronies were dust, the mayor, ignoring a whimpering Snyder, strode furiously into the room.

"You cannot fight me! I am invulnerable!" he bellowed. Faith made a tsk tsk sound, shaking her head.

"Only while the ascension is on track. Meaning the box is in tact." She glanced over her shoulder, where Willow was in the final stages. "Sorry pops." Faith grinned. A crack and a poof of smoke declared the destruction of the box, and Faith delivered a spinning kick to the mayor's face, knocking him out cold. "Ascension's cancelled." She told his limp form. She turned to Buffy. "You guys all ok?" She asked. Buffy nodded, the others just looking confused. Faith shrugged, "What? You really think I'd roll with that loser? He wanted me to wear a flowery dress!" 

Buffy cracked a smile, hugging the other slayer like a long lost sister.

"God I missed you." She murmured.

He he, confused? : ) U'll see…


	4. Explanations

Chapter 4

_Previously…._

_Faith delivered a spinning kick to the mayor's face, knocking him out cold. "Ascension's cancelled." She told his limp form. She turned to Buffy. "You guys all ok?" She asked. Buffy nodded, the others just looking confused. Faith shrugged, "What? You really think I'd roll with that loser? He wanted me to wear a flowery dress!" _

_Buffy cracked a smile, hugging the other slayer like a long lost sister._

_"God I missed you." She murmured._

"Sorry 'bout that B."

"You. All of you …" Snyder stammered, "Why couldn't you be dealing drugs like normal people?" He left, along with his security guard escort, and Buffy nearly laughed out loud.

"Er, Buffy? I think I speak for all of us when I say, huh?!" Xander exclaimed. The two slayers looked round at the group, most of them utterly confused, but Willow with a look of interested near-understanding.

"Oh, damn." Faith said. "I forgot I hated these bits."

Buffy smirked.

"It's a long story."

"I was pretending." Faith said shrugging, just to annoy Buffy. She dodged Buffy's nudge, and suggested, "Should we go to the library… or somewhere else even… he's not invincible anymore, but the mayor will wake up soon, and he could still get us all arrested."

"Shoot. I didn't even think of that." Buffy cursed. "Is he really human? I mean if he's been around for a hundred years…" She was cut off by Willow's squeal.

"EW!" The witch cried.

"Oh god!" Both slayers agreed, turning to that which Willow was pointing at. Namely the mayor.

"It seems your breaking of the ritual chain of events has also thwarted his immortality." Wesley said in far too many words.

"His age has caught up with him." Giles verified, grimacing at the withered body before them. A rattling breath started them all.

"Jeez!" Faith gasped, "He's still friggin' alive!"

"You… You will…all…die for this…" he managed.

"Uh-huh." Buffy said, "I'm shakin' in me boots."

But Faith's face remained solemn as things worked over in her head.

"If I remember my peek at the books right… I'd forgotten about this bit… the effects will take a while… he wont die for hours… even though he's… well look at 'im. He must be in so much pain."

"Faith…my Faith." He gasped.

"I ain't your's." she spat back.

"Please… end this." The mayor's words shocked 'his' slayer. She glanced at Buffy, wondering if the blonde slayer would have done what she'd just decided to do. Faith knelt beside the dying man, and snapped his neck in an almost dismissive gesture. Faith glanced again at Buffy, who nodded, a forced smile on her face.

"Now explanations." Faith sighed. "Great." She grimaced.

FLASHBACK

Buffy stretched, sitting heavily on her bed. Faith had not seemed too happy when she'd left the docks. Buffy wished she knew how to get through to the other slayer, but she knew that her government trained instinct was to retract as far back into her shell as possible. If it bothered her that she'd killed Allan Finch, then she wasn't allowing herself to feel it.

"Hey B." 

Buffy jumped off the bed as Faith's voice sounded behind her. She was leaning against the window sill. She'd made no sound when she entered- another super-soldier trait.

"Fay." Buffy called her by this name as she thought the latter. Fay smirked. "You…"

"I'm fine. And really sick of being asked."

"Sorry." Buffy said with a half smile. "So what is it?"

Fay did not meet the other slayer's eyes as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"I need your help B." She said quietly. Buffy was stunned. It was the last thing she'd ever expected from Fay. When Buffy still said nothing, Fay looked up in question.

"Well, sure." Buffy managed. "What can I do?"

"It's complicated." Fay told her. "See, to fight the mayor, we're gonna need inside info." Buffy frowned, she'd thought Fay meant help with dealing with the murder. Fay saw her look, and sighed. "I'm not takin' back what I said, B. I'm sorry about the guy, really… but I'll get over it. Right now, we got bigger fish ta fry, and that whole sit. will actually make it easier."

"How d'you figure?" Buffy asked stiffly.

"With trick gone, the mayor needs a new right hand guy… or gal. I just applied for the job." Buffy paled,

"What?"

"Cool it, B. Like I said, inside info." Buffy nodded slowly in comprehension.

"But for that to work…" The blonde slayer said,

"Everyone has to believe." Fay confirmed. "So it comes to military tactics. Deep cover. I'm tellin' you cos I need you to know I got a plan. But everyone else has to think I'm 100% bad guy, consumed by the dark side, and all that."

"Everyone? Angel wont take it that easy."

"I know. That's the other reason I need you in on it."

"What do I do?"

About an hour later, the plans were laid.

"So you got it, right? Not the slightest sign."

"I know. I haven't seen you since we got back from the docks. Me an' Angel are playin' you, not us playin' him."

"You got it. An' try not to take it too personal, k?" Fay seemed genuinely concerned.

"I'll be fine. Make it realistic. Angel isn't dumb."

"I know. Good luck on the scooby end."

"You too Faith." Buffy said, squeezing the other girls hand. "I thought I'd lost you." She added the latter quietly. 

"No way, B. I may be a genetically engineered killin' machine, but I got a thing against government." She winced. "I hope the mayor ain't friendly with Lydecker, cos then, sorry B but the whole plan goes down the drain when I try to kill 'em both."

Buffy smirked now.

            "I'll help, if it comes to Lydecker."

            "Hey, you don't wanna get involved in my family probs B."

            "Can't help it. You an' me, there's no one else like us in the whole damn world. If that doesn't make us family, I don't know what does." She smiled softly, and her heart leapt when Faith returned it, completely genuine.

            "Take care, B."

            "You too." Faith vaulted the window sill and dropped into the night. Buffy sighed. This would not be easy.

Back to the present.

            "Then what about the demon selling the books?" Willow asked. "I thought you killed him and took the books."

            "Ah, yeah, that was a major screw up. See, I was sent out with a group vamps…

FLASHBACK

            "So, you got the books?" Faith drawled, flouncing into the apartment.

            "I-I-if you've got the money." Skyler stuttered, looking round at Faith and the three vamps. Faith tutted,

            "Uh-uh. We ain't payin'. You're gonna give us those books, now." She ordered. He swallowed, and backed into the room, allowing them entry.

            "I'll get them." He said, but seemed frozen to the spot. Faith wandered round the room, taking a look. Hearing a yell, she turned to see one vamp covered in blood, Skyler falling to the ground.

            "No!" Faith yelled. "What the fuck do ya think you're doin'?" She cried at the vamp.

            "Hey, we got the books!" called another of the vamps, who'd gone to look through Skyler's wardrobe. Faith controlled her breathing.

            "Ok, then. You're damn lucky though, what if he'd hidden them, morons?"

            "Who you callin' morons, slayer?" He spat the words. "I don't know what the boss was thinkin' but I really don't like bein' bossed around by a killer of our kind! You're scum. What do you think boys?" He looked to his friends, "Why don't we just take her out and be done? I mean, it's not our fault if the nasty demon killed her is it?" His cocky tone wilted a little in the slayer's gaze. She was smiling very broadly. There was a glint in her eyes, and the vampire had to do a double take, remembering that the girl was merely human, and that her eyes definitely shouldn't look so cat-like. "We… we're gonna take you down slayer." 

Faith bit her bottom lip, almost purring,

            "Oh, I would _love_ to see you try."

The vamps ran.

Present

            "And of course there is always the question of- why the hell did ya kidnap Will!?" Xander exclaimed. Fay frowned defensively,

            "Well I was with vamps, wasn't I! An' I still hadn't gotten my hands on all the books yet, so I wasn't givin' the game up yet. Sorry, Will, didn't have a choice."

            "But what about the threatening me bit?" Willow squeaked.

            "Had to keep you thinkin' I was bad too, right?" …The slayer caved, "An' I love to see you squirm, ok?" Buffy cracked a smile, while Willow still looked unsure. "Sorry." Faith said. 

            "So all this time… you've been under cover?" Xander said softly.

            "Yup."

            "But when you nearly strangled me… that was before the under cover?" he asked. Faith winced.

            "I was… to say tense is an understatement. I was in a… stage." She glanced at Buffy. "I'm sorry, Xand, I freaked…" There was not one person in the room, not even the dark haired slayer herself that wasn't at least slightly shocked by the utter sadness and defeat in her voice. 

            "Hey, its ok." Xander said.

            "No…" she said, shaking her head, "It's not. I'm sorry, all o' you. I really did screw up."

            "We all screw up now an' then." Buffy said quietly. "S'what makes us human." Only Giles and Wesley missed the significance of the comment. Fay smiled at her fellow slayer.

            "Thanks B… hey, you reckon I'll be able to keep my sweet crib?" This triggered the usually care-free banter, and Giles smiled, the worries of the recent weeks rolling off like water. Faith was back in the fold, the threat of the mayor was no more… he could deal with explaining the mayor's death later.

Reviews please!!


	5. Transgenic time

Yikes, it's been a while. I hope all u people hu keep askin me to update my Faith stories haven't given up on me!! There is more of this story on its way, I'm just kinda swamped right now since I have loads of stories on the go, as well as just going back to school a couple of weeks ago, into sixth form- I never knew you could get twice as much homework from less than half the number of subjects… oh well. Please read and enjoy, and REVIEW so that I know u havn't abandoned me!! Otherwise there no point in me posting, right? ;)

Chapter 5

            The two slayers sat together in Faith's apartment. Willow had fiddled some of the computer files so that it ceased to exist on city records and would therefore not be reclaimed when the late mayors affairs were dealt with. Buffy's mum had been a little confused, and not to mention wary when they'd told her about Faith being a good guy, so they'd decided to hang here tonight. For the first time in a long time, the two girls just sat together just chatting about 'pointless' things, just normal everyday, teenage things. However, after a while, Buffy realised that something was nagging at Faith.

"Ok." She said, "What's up?"

Faith raised her eyebrows, but knew from experience that lying wasn't an option.

            "It's not important." She said anyway. "It's just… well… does Xander hate me?"

Buffy snorted a laugh,

            "What!? No! Why?"

            "I just… did he tell you what happened between us?"

            "Yup." Buffy grinned wickedly. Much to her surprise, Faith hung her head, looking a little ashamed. "Faith…?"

            "I, oh god, B, he doesn't even know what happened! It wasn't exactly me."

            "Huh?"

            "Or, I wasn't myself." Buffy raised her eyebrows in a look that clearly said, 'it sounded just like you'. "Thanks, B." Faith murmured, "That's real reassuring."

            "Oh, Faith, would you just say it? I'm only teasing."

            "The truth is, I couldn't have _not_ slept with him if I wanted to. You remember when Max an' me talked about heat?"

Buffy's eyes widened in realisation.

            "Oh! Shit!" Buffy tried not to laugh.

 Faith groaned. "We'd just fought off those weird sisterhood demons, an' you know how I am after a fight anyway…"

            "Oh jesus!!" Buffy cried, hysterical laughter bubbling out despite her efforts. Faith frowned,

            "Yeah, well…"

            "Sorry, sorry…"

            "S'ok, it's just, I feel so awful…"

            "Why? Xander really isn't complaining!" Buffy scoffed.

            "I know." Faith grinned, "But when I'm in heat, I have no control over it. Xander is a friend, which is a rare thing for me… and you know I'm not so good with the whole connection thing. He was just there, and male, and it was as simple as that, my brain had no say in the matter. And then when it was over, an' I was me again, I freaked, I chucked him out. He probably does hate me now."

            "Faith, no. I'm sure he'll understand."

            "You saying I should tell him it was heat!? Hey Xander, don't be offended that I chucked you out, see it was just cos I never chose to screw you in the first place. Yeah, I'm sure that will go down soo well."

Buffy scowled.

            "I didn't mean it like that."

            "My life is so f*cked up, y'know? Friggin' Manticore… I wish Manticore never existed, and that I was just… normal!"

            "Uh-uh." Buffy said seriously, "If you were normal, you wouldn't be Faith. You wouldn't be the person we all know and love." Faith looked up sharply at her friend, and saw only sincerity in her eyes.

            "Thanks, B."

Seattle- (goes a bit off from the story of 'before the Dawn' now. I just had to change some of the stuff that happened there… If u haven't read it, I guess u wont care. All u need to know is that the Chinese Clan is a group of thieves Max lived with for like 6 years in LA.  Lead by a guy called Moody, they're like family to her, but she left for Seattle when she got a lead on her brother Seth. Oh! And Kafelnikov is the leader of another group, 'the brood' I think that's how its spelt! who are bad guys. They hate the C.C. and Max.)

Max rode as fast as she could, not even totally certain where she was going. All she knew was that she had only a few days to get to the Clan. She'd been investigating this eyes-only guy, and paying careful attention to his hacks. When he mentioned Kafelnikov's intentions to move to Seattle, she made a point of finding out where… and found out more too. Kafelnikov planned to lay siege to the Chinese clan. He would kill them all, and he had help- from who, Max didn't know, but she could guess.

Back at her apartment, swiftly packing anything she thought she might need, Max tried to call Moody. It didn't work. Max had a horrible feeling that Kafelnikov had cut off communication to the area. Then a thought struck her- it was very unlikely that she would get there in time to stop the slaughter even if she managed to stow away on a plane, but she did know people much closer. She dialled another number.

            "Hello?" A voice said on the other end of the line.

            "Erm, Hi." Max said, not recognising the voice, "Er, is Buffy there please?"

            "She's not in right now, can I take a message?"

Max cursed under her breath, and sighed,

            "Yeah, ok, could you tell her that Max called, and ask her to ring back on this number? It's kinda urgent." Max gave her the number, and, thanking the mystery woman she guessed must be Mrs Summers, hung up. Max bit her lip, and remembered another number Fay had given her- the library. She dialled again.

            "Hello?" that must be Giles, Max thought.

            "Hi, is Buffy or Fay…Faith there please?"

            "No, neither of them is here right now, can I ask who is calling?" He sounded worried, and Max realised that he probably thought she was from the council.

            "Yeah, tell them it's Max. And it's urgent."

            "Urgent?" Giles repeated.

            "Yeah."

            "Ok, then." She heard him murmur her name, probably while writing it, and then she heard a gasp in the background.

            "Max!?"

            "You know her?" Giles asked, his voice muffled, as if his hand was over the phone. There was the sound of a bit of a struggle, and Willow's voice sounded,

            "Max?"

            "Willow! Thank god! I have to talk to Fay."

            "She's not here. They're patrolling."

            "Damn it! I need her help… in fact, I guess all of your help would be good." Max sounded desperate.

            "Max, what is it?" Willow asked, concerned.

            "Bad guys are gonna kill a load of people in LA. People I care about, and I'm pretty sure it's cos of me, y'know, the thing we told you? About me and Fay?"

            "Oh!"

            "Yeah, but I'm in Seattle!"

            "Oh, I get you." Willow cringed, "Ok, I'll get Faith as quick as I can."

            "Tell her to leave a message on my pager." Max gave the number. "I'm gonna start down."

            "Ok. It'll be ok Max."

            "God I hope so. Thanks Will. Bye."

            "Bye." They both hung up.

            "Who was that?" Giles asked.

            "Max." 

Giles raised his eyebrows. Willow rolled her eyes, "Faith's sister."

            "What!?"

Willow smiled, that was just the reaction she'd expected.

            "Can't talk now, I need to find Faith."

            "An' then I was like, 'I'm Buffy, the vampire slayer, an' you are?' He totally freaked, swung at me with this big club thingy, and I dodged, and … it was wicked."

            "I can imagine." Faith grinned. They were walking through the graveyard, and Faith found Buffy's animated story telling very amusing, since Buffy still claimed that she didn't see the fun in slaying.

            "So… you got any Manticore stories?" Buffy ventured. Faith face fell,

            "Not so much… wasn't exactly fun time…" But suddenly she lit up again, "'cept there was this one time, when one of the guys in our unit, Zane, was showing off so much… we were doing an obstacle course, an' we were at the one bit where Lydecker couldn't see us, so we were playin' around a bit. Me, Max and Jondi were just starting up a wall, when he turned up and told us to move aside for the men, y'know doin' the macho guy thing. He slipped an' fell down about half way, so we all left him there in a heap and climbed the wall, no probs. He finished last, and he was so embarrassed…" She grinned at the memory. Buffy smiled back, loving to see Faith happy about memories, when they so often bought her sadness. Buffy she opened her mouth to ask something, but before she actually formed a word, they both heard a yell,

            "Faith! Buffy!" They turned to see Willow running towards them. They each got the feeling she'd probably run all the way from where ever she'd been.

            "Will, what is it?" Buffy asked, supporting her panting friend.

            "Phone call, Max, trouble." She managed.

            "Max?" Faith repeated, her faced hardening into an expression that told Buffy she was now once again Fay, Manticore soldier, not Faith the vampire slayer. "What kind of trouble?"

            "Dunno exactly, gave me number… phone back…" Willow handed her the piece of paper. Fay grabbed it, and ran, faster than even Buffy could ever move.  


	6. United

Woohoo, update! Aren't u proud of me? Chapter 6 

            "Moody, they're everywhere! We can't get out! How the hell do they have all this help!?" Gabriel was frantic. The doors had been blasted only minutes ago, and there were black clad soldiers blocking all the exits.

            "I don't know!" Moody cried back. He looked around, his worried eyes resting on the boy who would surely be dead if Moody hadn't asked him to run to his office moments before the doors blew. "Fresca!" Moody shouted. The boy ran to him. "Get these kids calm. I need your help now. Help Gabe to sort them out. Get them ready."

            "Ready for what?" he asked nervously.

            "Ready to fight." 

            "I got a better idea." A voice called from one of the back exits. "How about you get ready to run like hell instead." The shout took a while to process. Was it a threat? Or an ally? Then it clicked into place. The person in the doorway was covered from head to foot in black, including cloth obscuring most of her face, but it was not military, and the brood had no female members. "Come on, you idiots! What the hell are you waiting for!?" Fay yelled. The clan all ran for the exit. Outside, they met a small group of similarly dressed people, all obviously intent on concealing their identity from whoever the military part of this was. Fay stood in the doorway, beckoning them all out, while a tall man started off down the alley they'd come into, telling the clan members to follow. Moody stopped by Fay,

            "Wait. I'm grateful, but who are you people? Why are you helping us?"

            "Cos my sister asked me to." Faith replied.

            "Max!?" moody gasped.

            "Got it in one, dude. I'm Fay." They shook hands, and set off after the others.

            "Sir!" They've disappeared!"

            "What!?" Lydecker spat.

            "They got out!" The soldier confirmed. Lydecker went through each team on the radio, until he found no answer. 

            "Damn it!" He cried, "I want all the teams we can spare around the west side of the building!" The soldiers moved out immediately.

            "Keep going, you're doing great." Fay told them all, moving along side the running group, moving to the front or back with ease. She was at least twice as fast as any of them. "B, you ok?"

            "I'm fine… I'm only worried about what happens when they realise." As if in answer, a gunshot rang out, and Angel flinched.

            "Damn it!" He cried, but kept running. The Chinese clan exchanged glances, but presumed he must be wearing a bulletproof vest.

            "Faster!" Fay yelled. She dropped to the back of the group, but moved enough to make it clear that she was the X5… she knew Lydecker was looking for a manticore girl- maybe she could draw their attention.

            "Sir! We have a guy who was barely affected by bullets, several other disguised people, and a girl moving way to fast for a normal person."

            "Excellent. I don't care what happens to the others, let them go for all I care. But get that girl!"

            "And the bullet proof man?"

            "You have heard of a bullet proof vest, right?"

            "Sorry sir."

            "Get out of here."

            Fay could sense them coming. She allowed herself to fall behind the group- if it came to a fight, she didn't want any of them involved. Even Buffy would be out of her league here. She glanced around, TAC teams were filing into the alley behind them. She dodged a couple of bullets, and yelled for the others to get away. Then she turned to face them. It took her a second to realise Buffy was beside her.

            "B, get out! This is not your fight!"

            "No it's yours, and that _makes_ it mine. You gotta be kidding if you think I'm gonna leave you here."

            "You'll get yourself killed!" Fay yelled angrily.

            "Me!? If you try fighting them alone, you're screwed. I'm not leaving. If I die, I die, but I'd do this over again a thousand times if I had to. I'm not leaving."

Faith couldn't help it. She smiled at her friend. The only other person in the world who knew what it was to be a slayer. Her partner. Her girlfriend. Her sister. They both dropped into fighting stances. The odds were crazy, but more than one of the TAC guys swallowed nervously. They could see the confident smiles on the girls' faces even through the masks. Suddenly the alley erupted into a frenzy of fists, feet and tasers. The next time it paused, the slayers found themselves back to back in the centre of a ring of soldier, breathing hard, but still grinning. The ring was in turn ringed with unconscious bodies. 

            "You boys had enough, or you want some more?"

            "We're not all boys, y'know." Replied a voice from the back of the group. Buffy felt Fay stiffen. The girl pushing through pulled off her helmet and gas mask, and Fay's world crumbled.

            "Max?" She gasped, then she frowned, had it all been a trap? But something felt wrong…

            "Both of you just turn yourselves in, and we'll all go play happy families back at manticore." The girl said. Alarm bells rang in Fay's mind. _She thought Buffy was an X5._ But Max knew Buffy. Therefore, this was not Max. Fay struck out, slamming a fist into her face, breaking her nose. She grabbed the girl's weapon, stunning her with her own taser, all before any of the other soldiers could react. But following that, the fight resumed. Buffy had caught the same slip as Fay, and did not worry about the X5 on the ground. It was not Max. Soon enough, even with such impossible odds, Fay and Buffy stood surrounded only by only five soldiers.

            "You could just run you know." Buffy told them. Fay however, knew that even if they knew they were gonna lose, none of them would risk Lydecker's wrath. The stale mate was broken once again by the sharp sound of clapping. Fay stiffened again, as Lydecker approached.

            "Very good! And I thought I was looking for _one_ X5!"     

            "You are. She's not transgenic. Your guys are just sloppy." Fay quipped, but her voice quavered. Lydecker chuckled. Then ten more soldiers appeared, and just from stance and physique, Fay knew who they were. She swallowed. "She's not one of us, Lydecker, I swear. Let her go." Fay said. Buffy nudged her, furious at the suggestion. Of course she didn't realise the severity of the situation. Lydecker nodded to the newcomers, and they each removed their helmets, to show their faces. Fay had to resist a cringe at each one. They were all X5's, either ones who'd stayed behind, or clones of her brother and sisters, and one… now that was creepy. Buffy saw the girl, and she finally understood the odds. A group of normal guys is one thing… a squad of X5's though? Fay came to a decision. "I'll come without a fight if you just let her go. I swear she's not involved in this." 

            "No, no, I don't think so. It's not like you have a choice anyway." Lydecker said with a smile. 

            "If you force a fight, I will let these guys kill me before I give in."

            "An' so will I!" Buffy added for effect.

            "So what's it gonna be, Deck? One or none?" Fay asked. Buffy was quaking. What if he said she could go? Could she really leave Faith here? But if she could go, she could get the others… they could help. Fay was bored of waiting. Knowing she had barely a second, she moved faster than ever before. By the time anyone knew she'd done anything, Lydecker's own gun was pointed at his head. "I know they can move fast. I know they can disarm me. I also know that before they do, I can pull this trigger, an' you'll be just as dead. Let her go." For a moment, no one knew what to do. The Lydecker said,

            "Let the other one leave." Fay nudged Buffy, and she reluctantly sprinted off.

            "Just us now." Fay said. Fear over whelming her, Fay failed to notice the X5 behind her. The gun went flying as she fell forwards from the kick. All ten soldiers did their bit, and when the chaos cleared, Fay was kneeling before Lydecker, Her arms held out tight to the sides, her head yanked back by her hair.

            "Let's get a look at you then." Lydecker said.

            "Wait!" Fay cried. She didn't know what she was gonna say, but she had to delay him somehow. "Don't you wanna figure who I am first? Surely seeing me will take all the fun out of it?" Lydecker thought for a moment. 

            "Well, today seems different somehow… but still, I think you're Max."

            "Wrong!" Cried the figure that landed on one of the soldiers holding Fay, knocking them unconscious. Another figure knocked another soldier down, and yet another fight ensued. It would have worked, too, if it hadn't been for the soldiers already having a grip on Fay. Everything froze when a gun was cocked. The small 'click' sounded deafening, especially to Fay, as it was right by her ear.

            "Don't move a muscle." Fay's clone said. She still gripped Fay's hair, and the gun was pressed right to her head. Max (one of the newcomers) didn't dare even twitch. She glanced around at the other transgenics, now that she could see all their faces, her stomach began to churn as she saw the same as Fay had- she knew all these people, or at least felt that she did. It was when she saw the one that looked exactly as she'd imagined Ben would that she nearly lost her balance and ruined everything. He was quite tall, muscular, and very good-looking. Max actually had to resist a groan as she looked him over, and scolded herself for even thinking such things about a guy who looked exactly like her brother. Watching him, Max noticed that his stance was less confident than the others- he was very uncomfortable. He held in both hands a double ended taser which reminded Fay of the newer 'Star Wars' films… but that would be lost on Max, she'd never seen them, she just thought it looked horribly like a cattle prod, and knew just by looking at it that it could take down even a transgenic in no time. What Max really noticed was how he was standing between two of the other remaining soldiers, and kept glancing at either one, then down at the weapon.

            "You might as well give in." Lydecker said, "You are out number and badly armed. And at one word, I can have her killed." He nodded at Fay.

            "You wouldn't dare." Max growled, "You want us alive."

            "I could easily settle for one dead and two alive."

Max grinned,

            "Tsk tsk, Deck." She scolded, keeping her voice low and unrecognisable from her usual tone. "Thing is, if you kill her, you wont have anything to bargain with, and you get none of us."

            "You can't fight all of us." Lydecker said, "It's 8:3. Nine including me."

            "Maybe we should change those odds then." Someone said. It took a while for anyone to work out who, but by the time they did, the guy who looked like Ben had burst into action. He thrust the taser first to one side, then the other, stunning his two flanking soldiers. The confusion gave Fay time to jerk herself out of her clone's grip, dodging the gun, and tripping her. Max and her companion also sprang into the fight once more, knocking down soldiers while they were wondering why their teammate had turned on them. In mere minutes, the odds were shortened to 4:4, Fay knocking her clone out, and Max and her companion flooring one of their opponents. The truth was, however, that the Manticore soldiers were simply too strong. The only reason they hadn't all been caught (other than Ben's twin joining them) was because of using skill, lucky timing and as Max would say, 'fighting dirty' to oppose the strength they knew they couldn't meet- 10 years of Manticore training was bound to make a difference. The four of them now knew that they had to get away, rather than pushing the fight. The agreement was met without a single word, but it was much easier said than done anyway. Several times they attempted to knock their opponents down in order to seize the chance to run, but each time the Manticore soldiers were just too fast. Fay knew she was weakening. The mask made it hard to breath, as well as restricting sight a little, and even with the flattened odds, this was not easy. Lydecker was just standing back, watching. His radio had been smashed near the start of the fight, but he knew he could not leave to get reinforcements in case one of his people got trigger-happy. The few ordinary soldiers who'd been left were long gone. They knew all too well not to get involved once the X5's got going. Fay saw him out of the corner of her eye, and longed to get rid of her current opposition in order to get at Lydecker instead. 

            Max slammed back to back with her companion, breathing heavily.

            "We have to run. It's our only chance." She gasped.

            "You tell me when we have time then!" He snapped back.

            "Give it up!" Max's soldier yelled.

            "Bite me!" she shouted back, and launched herself at her. The girl dodged, and Max hit the wall, cursing. She crumbled on impact, and when she turned, she was looking up the barrel of a gun. Either the soldier didn't hear Lydecker, or she didn't care. Max closed her eyes as she heard the crack of the gun.

Ha ha ha. Please review.


	7. Who are you?

Update time. Please review, very important, (see the bottom for details) Chapter 7 

            -Max kept her eyes closed. Surely it should hurt more? She thought, or maybe hurt at all? Maybe it's just cos I'm already dead… She opened her eyes tentatively to see a very shocked soldier looking at the bullet suspended in mid air an inch from Max's face. Max grinned at the expression on Lydecker's face, and then the grin widened as two more people she knew were Buffy and Angel leapt into the fight from the low roof opposite. A third person, who stayed on the roof, gave a thumbs up to Max as the bullet dropped to the ground. With the extra help, it was only minutes before the six were standing around a lone Lydecker. He swallowed nervously, knowing that if they were to follow his training, he was dead now. Max's companion raised his gun, and more than one person raised their eyebrows, thinking, _are we really gonna do this?_ To everyone's surprise, it was Fay that spoke.

            "Stop." She said. Lydecker breathed a sigh of relief. Sure it didn't mean he was safe, but at least there was a chance.

            "Why!?" Exclaimed the guy with the gun.

            "Cos if we just kill him, then we're no better than him. In a fight is one thing, but this is murder."

            "Execution." He argued.

            "Same thing." Max replied. "He can't fight back. She's right, we can't do this."

            "Not to mention it's what he trained us to do." Ben's clone put in.

            "An' we are not heartless weapons." Fay said sternly.

            "What the hell do we do with him then?" The guy sighed, seeing their point.

            "We could beat the crap outta him." Fay said hopefully. Buffy couldn't tell if she was joking or not.

            "One last thing first." Max said, stepping towards the man who filled her nightmares. "You are a sick bastard." She told him. "You were prepared to facilitate the deaths of all those _kids_ just to get at one of us- worse, for the possibility that a scumbag like Kafelnikov was right in _thinking_ it was one of us. You are the lowest of the low, and you are soo lucky that we never paid attention in class." Then she punched him, hard. They all heard the crack as his nose broke, and he collapsed, his face in a bloody mess.

            "We have to get out of here, quick." Ben's twin said, "He has plenty more standing by, and if they don't hear from him for a while, they'll come running."

            "We've cleared a way out." Buffy told Fay.

            "Great- everyone ok?" Fay looked around while they all nodded.

            "Who the hell are all you people?" Max's companion asked as the witch climbed down from the roof.

            "Later." Fay snapped, "I could ask the same of you. But we don't have time now. Let's go!" They set of as a group down the way the Chinese clan had fled, Buffy and Angel leading the way. The newly turned manticore soldier agreed to help if they came across any others- they wouldn't know he was turned. But they got to the clan without mishap.

            "Moody!" Max cried, hugging her mentor.

            "Maxine!?" He stood back as she pulled off her face-covering scarf. She turned quickly as a cry rang out from the back of the clan group.

            "Max!" a boy called excitedly. Max grinned widely,

            "Fresca." She replied as he pushed to the front and hugged her,

            "I knew you'd come back." He seemed to realise that this was very unmanly, and stood back, red faced. Max grinned,

            "Hey, you should be thanking my sis, not me." 

Fresca looked over the group, who still had their faces covered. Fay realised that this was a cue for her to reveal herself, so she did, and the others followed suite. Fay shook out her hair, happy to breath easily again. "Fres, meet Fay. Fay, this is Fresca." Fay nodded to him, but saw Max hesitate instead introducing the others. It was then that she realised that she didn't know which of her brothers had accompanied Max, and she wheeled to see his face, curiosity overwhelming her. She gasped, a grin filling her features- she recognised him immediately.

            "F*ck me! Seth!?" She cried.

            "No thanks, Fay, I still think of you as a sister." He grinned back.

            "Wow." Fay said glancing at Max with a raised eyebrow, "He's still a dick."

            "What!?" He shrugged, "Ten years is meant to change a guy?"

            "I missed you." Fay laughed.

            "Me too, little sister." He agreed, bundling her into a hug. 

            "I'm not your _little_ sister." She argued, though her voice was muffled against his chest.

            "Always will be to me." He replied. Buffy smiled at the affection Fay clearly showed for her brother. Buffy suddenly realised how differently Fay acted when she was around them- as if she felt totally safe, totally secure; she felt that she belonged. Buffy had rarely seen that in Fay, and it was almost always when the two of them were alone, not in the large Scooby group. Speaking of scoobies, four more masked people appeared now.

            "You bought the whole crew!?" Max commented to Fay. Her sister shrugged,

            "These guys are good in a jam."

            "So who are these guys?" Seth asked. "You two were so strong, but you're not transgenic, I can tell." He motioned to Buffy and Angel. Buffy glanced at Fay, who nodded, a wry smile on her face. So Buffy began.

            "I'm Buffy. This is Angel and Willow." Then she moved on to the others, who were uncovering their faces. "That's Xander, Giles, Oz and Cordy." Max snorted a laugh, and they all turned to see what she thought was so funny, though Fay was sure she already knew. "What?" Buffy asked. 

            "Erm, nothing." Max replied, regaining her composure, but unable to hide the smile. Buffy just shook her head, while Cordy gave Max a look that the scoobies had come to know as the death glare.

            "So what are you then?" Seth asked.

            "There's no time now." Max cut in. "We have to get out of town. All of us." She turned to Moody, Fresca, and the rest of her family of the past six years. "All of you must leave. I'm sorry Moody, I really screwed things up, but you guys have to go. Split up, spread out, leave. Now."

            "But if they were after you…" Someone said,

            "Then they could use you against me. Hurt you to get at me. No, you have to leave. Kafelnikov is gonna be pissed that we flattened his siege… please… you have to." A murmur ran through the small crowd, but they all knew she was right. They immediately began forming into groups, but Fresca approached Max. "You gotta be strong, Fres." Max said, "Stronger than ever before. Look after Niner, right?"

Fresca nodded, not about to turn down a request from Max, but his face was pale, and his eyes wide with sorrow,

            "I'm never gonna see you again, am I?" he said quietly. Max felt her breath catch in her throat.

            "You never know." She managed, "We might bump into each other some time."

            "Yeah." He laughed sarcastically, "An' I might become president."

            "You do, you give me a call, ai-aight?" Max told him with a grin.

            "Definitely." He replied. The young boy smiled, and Max drew him into a hug. "I'll miss you Max." He whispered.

            "You too, Fres." She answered. "You too." 

Max finished saying her goodbyes, refusing more money from Moody with the truthful excuse that he'd need it more than her. Then the transgenics sent the Chinese clan off in various directions, each of them with orders never to mention their involvement- it was the only way to keep them safe. Once they were the only ones left, the manticore gang and the scoobies set off for Oz's van, which was hidden nearby, except Max and Seth, who went to retrieve their bikes.

A few hours later, the group was assembled in the library: Buffy figured her Mum would not be best pleased to find out what they'd been doing. The scoobies had explained their deal to Seth and the new guy, who Max had quickly dubbed Alec once he'd begun to loosen up a bit and make 'smart-aleck' comments about just about everything.

            "Vampires." Seth said disbelievingly for the fifteenth time.

            "Yup." Faith replied grinning, "Vampires, demons, hell mouths, alternate dimensions…"

            "We went through this already." Alec said rolling his eyes. Seth ignored him.

            "So that's why bullets don't hurt him?" He pointed to Angel, who was having his wound dressed by Buffy.

            "Ah…" He said wincing, "actually they hurt like he…" He seemed to consider something, and altered his reply, "They hurt a lot. They just wouldn't kill me."   

            "Huh." Seth the sceptical said. "And…" He looked to Angel again, who sighed, vamped out, and turned back again. "Huh… and Fay, you and Buffy are slayers. With super strength."

            "Yup."

            "But you already had super strength, so you're like, mega strong?"

            "'Cept I can still whoop her ass." Max grinned. Faith frowned in mock hurt.

            "She's way stronger than me." Buffy concluded, to the shock of her watcher, (or the man she thought of as her watcher) who'd been listening in silent amazement, wondering why he'd never been told about Faith's, or rather Fay's, past. He'd accompanied them to LA on the principal of helping, but hadn't really understood a word of the explanation, other than Faith's sister's friends were in mortal danger of bad guys with guns, until they'd elaborated on the way back.  

            "So… you've all known about …this… for, what, sixth months?" he said motioning to Fay, Max, Seth and Alec as explanation for the 'this'.

            "Yep." Buffy said with a cringe. 

            "Sorry we didn't tell, G. Just, well, I was tryin' to keep low pro' on this whole deal, but when Max turned up in SunnyD' nearly half a year ago, B realised something wiggy was goin' on, so we told her, an' then that lot kinda saw us do a load of pretty awesome fightin'… but there was no reason to tell you… an' I can't just go telling every person I like or have connections to… cept now I kinda have…" Faith finished thoughtfully. Now that he'd finally accepted the story, Seth was not looking happy. He looked around, counting up… seven people Fay had told. Plus Moody thanks to Max. That was way too many. Buffy had been watching him, and noted the disapproving resolve on his face.

            "We are trustworthy, y'know." Buffy told him, confusing everyone else. "We all have our own secrets to deal with, and Faith is like a sister to me. We wont tell anyone."

            "That's not the point." Seth said. "You don't even know _Fay_, not really. You know the civilian face she puts on for you. You don't understand how major Manticore is. What if Lydecker found you? How in hell do you think you would stand up to his torture? You can't just forget like we can, and you're not as strong as we are. You risk Fay's life every day."

            "Hey!" Faith exclaimed, hating how he was talking about her as if she weren't even there.

            "It's true, Fay." He said. 

            "Screw that!" Buffy cried, earning herself a huge grin from Fay. "Don't you try to tell me I don't know Fay! I've known the truth for half a friggin years an' I've stood by her! She's like a sister to me! An' don't you forget you'd be dead or in Manticore right now if it weren't for us!"

            "Still not the point!" Seth yelled back. "If Lydecker got to you, you would crack! Slayer or not, you wouldn't withstand that kind of pain! And none of them would!"

            "Seth…" Max began, but was cut off by the mot affective tone of all. It was quiet, desolate…

            "You don't have a clue what you're talking about, little boy." Angel said from the back of the group. "You think that just cos you grew up in Manticore, just cos you've got revved up DNA, you're stronger than us inside? You ever been to hell, Seth?"

            "Yeah." He replied defiantly, "Grew up there actually."

Angel laughed shortly- the most creepy sound Max ad heard in a long while.

            "No, boy. I mean Hell. Un-ending torture in a place where time is distorted so much that one day here is years there. When you've been gone a few hours, you're friends might feel sorry for you… dread the hours of torture you'd be enduring. But in truth, as far as you know, you've been there months. You do not know what pain is. Every person in this room has suffered, boy. Maybe not to that level, but they've felt pain- just as much as you. They've seen friends die before their eyes. They've lost loved ones, in more ways than one. They've been tortured by creatures who don't give the slightest whether they live or die- they just hurt people for fun.Those guys are just normal people, and yet they spend their nights researching and fighting to save people who don't even know they're in danger. Don't you try to suggest that these people can't keep a secret, kid. Cos you really have no idea."

            "Stop calling me kid." Seth said in a dangerous voice. "You're not so much older than me."

            "I'm over 200." Angel said simply, seriously pissing Seth off. Then he cocked his head to one side, "Well… that's if you don't include the time in hell…"

            "You're the one who doesn't have a clue!" Seth told him, but more than one person had had enough.

            "Seth!" Two voices yelled. Both Max and Fay were on their feet.

            "You're wrong." Fay said. "I know they're strong. I know that my secret is safe with them. You think I'd just tell anyone? Damn it Seth, you just met these guys! Do you realise they've saved the world? For gods sake, Buffy died and she still kept fighting. She saw the love of her life being sucked into hell due to her own actions, Seth! You're out of line yellin' at them." She sighed deeply, and her voice became quieter, and sadder, "Dammit, Seth. You're my brother." She stepped towards him, looking up into his eyes. "I've dreamt about finding you half the nights since I was nine! You gotta believe me, dude. They're on the level. I swear." She choked a laugh, "I'd even trust Cordy with my life."

Seth's eyebrows flew up, and he looked Cordy over.

            "I just wanna keep you safe." He told Fay, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

            "I know." She replied, "But you don't gotta be an ass about it." She grinned. He cracked a smile, and nudged her.

            "We cool?" Buffy asked.

            "We cool." Fay confirmed, elbowing Seth playfully.

Aw, fluff. Lol. Please review, Cos I don't know whether there's more to come or not. Its kinda up to you. Seriously- this is all I have written, so if you want more, you gotta tell me, or this is it.


	8. New life

Whoa, its been a while, huh? But hey, here's another chapter for you, cos its Christmas! 

Chapter 8 

            "You sure about this?" Buffy asked for about the hundredth time.

            "I'm sure B. Me being here is just too risky. For you guys, for me… plus, havin' SunnyDale hog _both_ slayers isn't really fair now, is it?" Faith replied. Buffy chuckled,

            "Just be careful, ok? An' if you ever need anything…"

            "Thanks, B. Means a lot." The two slayers hugged tightly, and all watching winced, knowing that hug would probably crush anyone else's ribs. Then Faith turned to the SunnyDale crew. "Gonna miss you guys." She said, smiling.

            "Miss you too." Willow squealed, pulling the slayer into a hug. Faith returned it, laughing softly.

            "Have a nice life." Cordy said, trying very hard not to sound too un kind. Faith rolled her eyes,

            "You too Cor."

            "Bye." Oz said, hugging her, she hugged back,

            "Bye Oz." Next, Angel, who just nodded. Faith nodded back, knowing that this wasn't indifference, just Angel's awful farewell skills. Faith crack a laugh, and pulled him into a hug. Then Giles-

            "Be careful." He told her seriously, "And like Buffy said…"

            "Sure thing G-man." She replied, and after a slight hesitation, they each shrugged, and hugged. Finally, there was Xander, and for some reason, Faith felt a tiny wrench as he smiled,

            "See ya." He said. Faith nodded, and they embraced. Xander pressed his face into her hair, feeling very strange- last time they been this close she'd tried to kill him… "I'll miss you." He whispered.

            "You too." She answered. Xander was shocked by the feeling in her voice. They pulled back, and she forced a smile, punching him gently on the arm. He smiled back. Watching from a short distance, Max could feel the emotion coming out in waves. She had no idea Fay was quite so loved here in SunnyD as she called it. Faith looked to Max, who nodded,

            "Good to see you guys again." She said with a wave. The SunnyDale crew all said good bye, and with a squeeze of her fellow slayer's hand, Fay mounted her motor bike beside the others. (Alec was on the back of Seth's bike much to both of their irritation.) She waved to the group, they revved their engines, and peeled out into the street, heading out of town.

            The scoobies watched until the bikes were out of sight before turning back to the house, Buffy wiping a tear from her eye. Angel put an arm around her, and she leant into him. So Faith was really gone.

            After a very long journey, during which Seth had grown to like Alec even less and soon turfed him off his bike, forcing him to ride with Max, trying desperately not to hold on either too high or too low for fear of having his arms ripped off, (Fay's bike was loaded with her stuff, so no room on there) the manticore group reached Seattle. They head to Seth's apartment, Max saying that turning up with three strangers might freak Kendra out a little.

            "So what are we gonna do then?" Fay asked Max. Max shrugged,

            "You could probably stay with me for a while, Alec could stay with Seth." She grinned at the furious expression Seth sent her way. "You could probably get a job at good ol' JamPony…"

            "Job?" Fay said with a grimace. "God I hate the real world. A girl has to fight evil, hide from the secret government agency on her ass _and_ get a job?"

            "Only if that girl wants to eat." Seth said, shifting her out of the arm chair she was in momentarily, taking her place and pulling her onto his lap.

            "And we're talking an actual job, not cat burglary, right?" She moaned. Max smiled, but shifted uneasily. Fay grinned, "Oh Maxie, have we been a naughty little super soldier?"

            "No. Not exactly… its just, there's this guy…" She began, pausing at the look on Seth's face, not to mention the wicked glint in Fay's eye. "Not _that_ kinda guy." Max scolded, "He's a P.I., into all the dirty sh*t in town… I got him looking for … well, you guys, and Hannah."

            "Max, are you crazy!?" Seth exclaimed, "Not only have you told half of friggin SunnyDale, you told some dodgey PI…"

            "No!" She interrupted, "He doesn't _know_, he's just looking for kids with barcodes, he doesn't know who I am. Dont worry about it, I've thought lots about it, and it's cool… trust me." The last was more a question than a statement, and though he sighed deeply, Seth nodded.

            "Besides, It'd be wicked if he did find the others, wouldn't it?" Fay put in.

            "'Cept that if some lowlife can find them then so can Lydecker." Alec said.

            "Na… Lydecker does not have the sorta contacts that this guy does. Most of the people Vogelsang talks to would not go within a mile of Lydecker or anything vaguely government related. He's cool, ok?" Max told them all.

            "Ok, whatever… do what you will, Maxie, but don't expect me to get involved." Seth sighed again. Max nodded, about to say something about how she didn't need his authorisation, but she thought the better of it. "Maybe we should all turn in for the night, I'm kinda beat." Seth said, "Dickweed here can stay with me 'til he gets his own place."

            "Thanks so much." Alec muttered sarcastically.     

"I'm all cosy here." Fay whined playfully, huddling up to Seth. He rolled his eyes.

            "Max?" He asked hopefully. She grinned, and grabbed Fay's arm, dragging her off his lap with a screech.

            "Hey!"

            "Lets go, Sis. You gotta meet Kendra." Max almost laughed at that thought, and Fay frowned,

            "What?" she asked. Max cracked up. "What?" Fay demanded. Max dragged her out of the apartment, waving to the guys over her shoulder.

            "Hunny, I'm home!" Max called as she let them into the apartment she shared with Kendra.

            "Max, Hi!" Kendra greeted, "And who is this?"

            "This is Faith." She'd said her sister's SunnyDale name without even considering it, and on realising, glanced at her- she nodded.

            "Hi, I'm Kendra." They shook hands, "So… what brings you to sunny Seattle- where did you go anyway, Max?" Faith raised her eyebrows at the high-pitched voice and ditsy manner, trying not to acknowledge the large amounts of pink everywhere.

            "Fay an' me go way back." Max said, flopping onto the couch. "Sorta sisters."

            "Cool. Wish I had a sister." Kendra said.

            "So… is it ok if Fay stays with us for a while?" Max asked hopefully.

            "Sure thing… not much space though…"

            "I can just take the floor- Probably softer than mosta the beds I've slept in." Faith conceded with a shrug.

            "Don't be dumb, we can share." Max said. "I barely sleep anyway."

            "You sure, sis?" Fay asked. Max nodded, and yawned,

            "Tonight however, I may crash."

            "Where've you guys come from- you both look knackered!" Kendra asked, wondering even as she said it if she'd get any answer- she knew how secretive Max could be.

            "SunnyDale." Faith replied.

            "It's near LA." Max explained in answer to Kendra's blank look.

            "Jesus! LA? No wonder you're tired. What the hell were you doing down there!?"

            "Visiting some old friends." Max replied in partial truth, "And my sister, of course." She nudged Faith.

            "Yeah- I lived down there."

            "Wow… isn't it real hot near LA? Sunshine all the time… Not like here. God, if we get one more dry day this year, it'll be a miracle."

Max chuckled,

            "I'm turning in." She said, yawning again. "Fay?"

            "Yeah… nice to meet ya, K." Faith said. Max shook her head, 

            "Is it not possible for you to call people by more than one letter?" She joked.

            "Of course it is, _M._" Faith replied with a grin.

            Next day- JamPony.

            "You really mean this, don't you?" Faith sighed, "I gotta get a job."

            "Unless you're gonna start chargin' people for saving their lives, yeah… No, you're not gonna charge people, Fay."

            "Dammit. Ok… lets get this bitch over with."

            "That's the spirit."

They approached the desk and Normal looked up. He frowned, looked at his watch, and raised his eyebrows,

            "Granted you've been gone for god knows how long on 'urgent business', but by god, you're on time! Are you ill?"

            "Ha ha, you're just so funny. I've got another good for nothing employee for you." 

            "Thanks a lot." Faith murmured. Max grinned,

            "Normal, she's a good rider, she'll be…"

            "If you say hard working, punctual or polite, I'll die laughing." Normal interrupted in a flat voice.

            "Normal…"

            "Whatever- fill in the form, an' you gotta get your own bike." He shoved a form into Faith's hand. She opened her mouth to brag about her beloved motorcyle, but Max stopped her,

            "He means bicycle, sis."

            "Oh this just gets worse, doesn't it?" Faith groaned. Max grinned, and steered her out, and round the corner to where a bike shop had recently been set up for the soul reason that Jampony was also there. Fay bought a bike for barely anything, thanks to her wicked bargaining skills (and the guy knew Max) and they returned to Jampony. 

            The sisters settled in chairs, and Fay began filling out the form. 

            "Name- Faith… Erm… surname… any ideas, Maxie?"

            "Dracula."

            "Helpful. Really helpful." Fay said sarcastically. "Ok…" Then she grinned, "Winters." She said. Max smiled back,

            "Yeh. Summers and Winters. Sounds good." She agreed.

            "Right. Faith Winters. Date of birth… for gods sake… ok, 1st of the 2nd, 2000. Nice an' simple. Home Address… can I put yours?"

            "Sure thing."

            "Cool… home phone number… Yours." A few minutes and a lot of lies later, Fay handed in the form, and got a temporary sector pass from normal that would get her through until the proper one was ready.

            "Well that wasn't soo painful." Fay said, sitting down again. "What now?"

            "Now we sit around as long as possible." Max replied with a grin. Faith smiled,

            "Now that I can understand."

            "My girl is finally back in town." A young black woman said, entering JamPony.

            "Hey OC." Max replied. 

            "Where you been, Bu? And who is this fine ass gal you bought wit' you?"

Max grinned again,

            "This is Faith. Faith- meet Original Cindy." The two shook hands, and Cindy sat down with them.

            "So… where were you, girl?" She asked.

            "LA, then SunnyDale."     

            "SunnyDale?"

            "Near LA." Max told her.

            "And why the hell did you get the urge to run all the damn way down to friggin LA?" Cindy exclaimed.

            "To visit some old friends, and see my sister." Max replied. Cindy's eyes went wide,

            "Your _sister?_"

            "Not literal sisters." Faith clarified, "But might as well be. We go way back."

            "You never told me." Cindy said, but her tone suggested to Faith that Max didn't tell her good friend much about her past.

            "Maxie, I'm hurt!" Faith said jokily.

            "You never told noone about me." Max countered.

            "Touche." Faith chuckled. Cindy looked back and forth between the two, wondering what Faith's story was, but knowing Max well enough not to bother asking. At least it was clear that they were close, and Cindy knew instictvely that Max had told Faith a lot more than she had told Cindy, or perhaps Faith had been there, she considered.

            "So." Cindy said, bringing herself out of her own thoughts, "You joining the oh-so-happy Jampony family?"

            "Already did. Filled in the form an' all." Faith told her. Cindy saw the look that past between the sisters and felt a stab of jealousy- it was usually she and Max who shared those looks.

            "Max!" Another person cried. It was a tall, limp haired guy with a dopey grin, "You're back! …and you bought a friend…" he grinned, "Hi, I'm Sketchy." He finished, holding out a hand to Faith.

            "Hi. I'm Faith." She replied, and shook his hand with a very firm grip. He swallowed and pulled his hand back.

            "We go waaay back." Max said. He nodded, getting the message.

            "Oh. Ok." He said.

            "Max, my sister, good to see you again." Said Sketchy's companion.

            "Hey Herbal." She replied, "Fay, this is Herbal Thought. Herbal, _my_ sister, Faith." They too shook hands, and the group dropped into inane banter, mostly about what Max had missed while she'd been away. Faith noticed that none of them bothered to query her whereabouts much, and presumed that it was well known that Max was very secretive.

            "Bip bip bip, people!" Normal cried, "Lets move, up, come on, this is a place of business!!" Several packages flew their way, but only Max and Faith managed to catch them, even though the flow of conversation never ceased. No one even noticed. "Bip!" Normal yelled again. Max rolled her eyes,

            "An I thought riding up the freeway all day was a drag- looks like it's back to work." She groaned, "C'mon, Fay, I'll show you the town."

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Please review! 


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